Senegal picked up a crucial 2-1 victory over Group H favorites Poland today behind an own goal in the first half and a controversial score in the 60th minute.
Senegal first found the back of the net in the 37th minute, when Idrissa Gueye's strike deflected off of Poland defender Thiago Cionek and past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The second Senegal goal came off the foot of M'Baye Niang, who capitalized on what should have been a routine play at midfield.
Niang had been on the sidelines getting treated for an injury and when the ref motioned him to return to the field, he sprinted directly towards the action with Poland's Jan Bednarik completely unaware. Just as Grzegorz Krychowiak tried to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, who was roughly 40 yards out from his goal, Niang intercepted the pass and cruised for an empty netter that put Senegal up 2-0.
Poland scored their lone goal off a Krychowiak header in the 86th minute, but it wasn't enough to overcome defeat. As a result, Senegal now sits atop Group H, tied with Japan, while Colombia and Poland are tied with zero points.
Senegal are the only one of the five African sides in the World Cup to avoid defeat in their opening game.
Check out some of the footage from Senegal's 2-1 victory over Poland in the tweets embedded below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1009110110470193152
https://twitter.com/_/status/1009120037871865856
https://twitter.com/_/status/1009118230705725440
