Bednarek, Kiwior and Pietuszewski in Poland's comeback | OneFootball

Poland, with Porto players Bednarek and Kiwior in the starting XI and Pietuszewski coming off the bench to make his senior international debut, came from behind to beat Albania 2-1 and book a showdown with Sweden in the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off.

The Albanian side took the lead in the 42nd minute, just before half-time, after an error by Bednarek, who missed his clearance. Hoxha seized the opportunity and put Albania ahead.

In the second half, Poland coach Jan Urban brought on Oskar Pietuszewski. The young Porto winger made his senior debut and left a good impression. With the FC Porto attacker on the pitch, Poland found the equaliser. Szymanski delivered a corner and the usual main man appeared. Robert Lewandowski headed into the back of the net in the 63rd minute, with Strakosha looking far from convincing.

Poland completed the comeback in the 73rd minute with a stunning long-range goal from Zielinski. With space and still some way from goal, the midfielder struck with his right foot and Strakosha could do nothing to stop it.

In the closing minutes, Oskar Pietuszewski stood out again and, after a surging run, was brought down in a move that earned Asllani a yellow card in the 88th minute. In the 75th minute, the FC Porto winger had already tried his luck against Albania’s goal, but the ball took a deflection off an opponent and went wide of the intended target.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.