Poland beats Scotland with ‘last-minute’ penalty
Nicola Zalewski gave the Poles the win by scoring a penalty in second-half injury time
It was with a dramatic ending that Poland defeated Scotland 3-2 in the other game of the first round of Portugal ‘s group in the Nations League . In the 90+7th minute, with the score at 2-2, Nicola Zalewski took the penalty that gave the victory to the Poles, on Scottish territory.
One goal to close the match and another to start the afternoon. Despite the hard-fought victory, the Polish team needed just eight minutes to take the lead. It all started with a loss of possession in a forbidden area by the Scots, which quickly fell to Sebastian Szymanski who, with a long-range shot, beat Angus Gunn .
Poland held the lead until half-time, but before that they made it 2-0. Robert Lewandowski was called upon to convert the penalty and made no mistake. With the score at 2-0 at the start of the second half, Scotland did not give up and reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 46th minute.
Billy Gilmour did not hesitate when faced with the Polish defence struggling to clear the ball from the penalty area, and with a first-time shot he gave Scotland new life . Former Sporting player Ryan Gauld came on in the 71st minute and shortly afterwards, Scott McTominay scored the equaliser that the fans at the training camp had been waiting for.
In a well-worked move down the right flank, Ben Doak launched a long ball to Anthony Ralston who crossed low into the box, where the Napoli midfielder appeared to finish. But all the work would go down the drain when Nicola Zalewski ‘s penalty gave Poland the three points .
With this result, Poland and Portugal, both teams with 3 points, now lead Group 1 of the Nations League. On Sunday, the Poles will face Croatia, at the same time that the Portuguese team hosts Scotland (7.45 pm).
