Poland crushes San Marino, Fabianski retires from the national team
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland beat San Marino 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier as goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski retired from the national team in Warsaw on Saturday.
It took the hosts just 10 minutes to break the deadlock when a header from Karol Swiderski beat Ilya Benedetini with a cross from Przemyslav Blashita from the left wing.
At 20 ′, San Marino defender Christian Broli stunned the goalkeeper when he unsuccessfully succeeded in blocking Przemyslav Frankowski’s heart.
Poland ended the game five minutes after half-time when Thomas Kidziora made it 3-0 from close range. In the final stage, substitutes Adam Boksa and Krzysztof Piatek did not miss their chances.
Saturday’s game was West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski’s last performance for Poland. The 36-year-old announced that he had decided to retire from the national team.
Fabianski started the match between the two bars and was replaced by Radoslav Majici in the 57th minute. The goalkeeper could not hold back his tears when both his teammates and the spectators cheered loudly.
England are close to sealing their place in the World Cup finals as they lead the group with 19 points. Poland is in third place with 14 points, one point behind Albania, which finished second.
The two teams will face each other on Tuesday in Tirana. The confrontation will be crucial for both sides to their hopes as only the winner of each group will directly qualify for the World Cup finals, while the runner-up will enter the playoffs.