LEW IS OUR ONE TO WOJ

DAVID MCDONNELL

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI has been backed to break his World Cup duck and deliver a “beautiful performance” in Qatar.

Poland star Lewandowski is one of the deadliest strikers in the world but he has yet to score at a World Cup. The Barcelona striker, who has 634 career goals, drew a blank four years ago in Russia as Poland finished bottom of their group.

But Poland keeper Wojciech Szczesny, once of Arsenal but now at Juventus, is convinced that Lewandowski will shine in Qatar and stand alongside

Polish World Cup legends like Zbigniew Boniek.

“No one doubts that Robert is one of the best players in the world,” said Szczesny. “He would definitely like to see his ambitions come true not only at club level but also for the national team.

“We all share that same ambition with our clubs and for the national team.

“Robert is very important for us and we will try to help him shine as much as he can. This is definitely a very important tournament for him and I think he’ll give a beautiful performance in Qatar.”

Mexico try to subdue Lewandowski (top) today and their keeper Guillermo

Ochoa said: “We know what Lewandowski is, there’s no debate about it. We know his talent, what he has achieved and where he has played. So we need to focus on not giving him any chances as he has the skills to turn a game around.”

Szczesny (below) claimed Poland have learned from their woeful showing in Russia and are better prepared to make the knockout stage as a result.

“Experience plays a very important role because it helps you prepare for the games,” he said. “So even negative experiences, like the one we had four years ago, helps you prepare for the next World Cup.

“Each tournament has its own history so I’m not thinking about previous tournaments in any way.

“This is definitely my last World Cup, probably the same for other players as well, so it would be great to have some success to remember it for.”

Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz echoed Szczesny and said his side can progress from a group that also includes

Argentina and Saudi

Arabia. “Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia are very strong teams,” said the Poland coach. “But 16 teams will go home and we don’t want to be one of those 16 teams.”