Mexico vs Poland

Group C of the 2022 World Cup consists of Argentina, Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia and could potentially be a very closely-fought set of matches. Many expect Argentina to finish top of the group but second place is a little more difficult to call, especially with Saudi Arabia’s surprise win over the favourites this morning.

Mexico have qualified for the last eight World Cups if you disregard their ban from Italia ’90 due to fielding over-aged players during the 1988 Olympic Games qualifiers. They’re co-hosting the 2026 World Cup and so have automatically qualified but will be eager to do well in this tournament and the goal for them must be to surpass a Round of 16 finish – a stage they have reached in their last seven tournaments.

Poland haven’t made it past the group stages of the World Cup since 1986, falling at the first hurdle in their last three attempts. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is their key player and when on the pitch, Poland will always pose a threat. This will likely be Lewandowski’s final appearance at a World Cup given the fact that the striker will be 34 years of age at this year’s tournament. He’d like nothing more than to help his side reach the knockout stages and beating Mexico in their opening match would increase their chances of doing so by some margin.

This is a tough match to call but I’m siding slightly with Poland.

Poland won eight of their ten matches in qualification for the World Cup, losing only to England and Hungary. They’re certainly not short of goals either, finding the net in all of their qualifying matches, averaging 3.1 goals per game.

However, Poland rarely keep clean sheets and conceded in 70% of their matches during qualification which included leaking goals against the likes of Andorra and even San Marino.

You can back Poland at 11/4 but Poland to win & both teams to score is my bet on the game which is priced at a slightly more attractive 13/2.

I also think odds of Evens just on both teams to score is a good bet at a chance to double your money.

This game could go either way and so it’s difficult to make a call on the correct score. I think a 2-1 result to Poland would be the most likely outcome.

I’d be moderately confident in backing both teams to score in this fixture. Both sides are capable in front of goal but have issues at the back which makes BTTS – Yes the logical bet.

Many will be backing Poland’s all-time top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, to find the net in this tournament and it wouldn’t be surprising for him to do so. He’s 50/1 odds to be the Top Scorer at the World Cup but that is mainly due to the bookies not expecting Poland to make it through to the later stages of the competition. However, in the group games, he’s a great bet to get on the scoresheet.

However, 9/2 for a first scorer isn’t the most attractive price. Therefore, I’m somewhat covering my bets slightly by opting for a Mexican player. This could be an open game and so I wouldn’t be surprised to see either side get on the scoresheet first. From the Mexican team, Raul Jimenez is the stand out player. The Wolves forward has found the net 29 times in 95 appearances for his country and was on target multiple times throughout qualification. He’s 6/1 to bag the first goal.

This is a tough market to call in this match and so I won’t be making a firm prediction. If I was having a bet, I think I’d take a chance at bigger odds on Mexico/Poland.

Over 3.5 cards is my selection in this match but if you’re looking for more tempting odds, I’d suggest adding in Poland to receive the most cards.

Mexico vs Poland Lineup

Mexico Lineup

Ochoa G. (G) / Alvarez E. / Chavez L. / Gallardo J. / Herrera H. / Lozano H. / Martin H. / Montes C. / Moreno H. / Sanchez J. / Vega A.

Poland Lineup

Szczesny W. (G) / Bereszynski B. / Cash M. / Glik K. / Kaminski J. / Kiwior J. / Krychowiak G. / Lewandowski R. / Szymanski S. / Zalewski N

Mexico World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa (America), Alfredo Talavera (Juarez), Rodolfo Cota (Leon).

Defenders: Jorge Sanchez (Ajax), Kevin Alvarez (Pachuca), Nestor Araujo (America), Johan Vasquez (Cremonese), Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Cesar Montes (Monterrey), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk), Jesus Gallardo (Monterrey).

Midfielders: Andres Guardado (Real Betis), Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo), Charly Rodriguez (Cruz Azul), Erick Gutierrez (PSV), Luis Chavez (Pachuca), Edson Alvarez (Ajax), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Luis Romo (Monterrey).

Forwards: Alexis Vega (Guadalajara), Hirving Lozano (Napoli), Raul Jimenez (Wolves), Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Henry Martin (America), Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey).

Poland World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Kamil Grabara (FC Copenhagen), Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus).

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Aston Villa), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Matty Cash (Aston Villa), Kamil Glik (Benevento), Robert Gumny (FC Augsburg), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Jakub Kiwior (Spezia), Mateusz Wieteska (Clermont), Nicola Zalewski (Roma)

Midfielders: Krystian Bielik (Birmingham), Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens), Kamil Grosicki (Pogon Szczecin), Jakub Kaminski (VfL Wolfsburg), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Al-Shabab), Michal Skoras (Lech Poznan), Damian Szymanski (AEK Athens), Sebastian Szymanski (Feyenoord), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Szymon Zurkowski (Fiorentina)

Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus), Krzysztof Piatek (Salernitana), Karol Swiderski (Charlotte FC)