By Victor Kanayo
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski failed to break his World Cup duck when he saw a second-half penalty saved in a goalless but entertaining draw with Mexico in their opening Group C game at Stadium 974 on Tuesday.
Lewandowski earned the penalty after a VAR check 11 minutes into the second half when Hector Moreno tugged at his shirt in the box.
But the Polish striker, who has never scored at the World Cup, saw his shot saved by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.
In a temporary arena built using 974 recycled shipping containers that overlooks the Arabian Gulf, a sea of Mexico fans in green outnumbered their Polish counterparts and they made their presence felt in the 40 000-capacity venue.
The draw leaves Mexico and Poland both on one point in Group C after one match played, while Argentina are bottom after suffering a shock 2-1 defeat by group leaders Saudi Arabia.
Mexico take on Argentina on Saturday before facing Saudi Arabia four days later.
Earlier, Tunisia held Denmark to a scoreless draw in high-octane match at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday with both sides guilty of failing to convert some good opportunities in a thrilling Group D match.
Tunisia generally regarded by most critics as the weakest African representative in Qatar brought the energy to the game from the start with crunching tackles and players rallying the North African country’s countless fans in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
The Eagles of Carthage, as Tunisia are known, dominated the early stages as they hassled and pressured the Danes into a series of mistakes.
However, as Denmark grew accustomed to the game’s intensity, they grew into the match with their talisman Christian Eriksen pulling the strings in midfield.
Tunisia missed a couple of gilt-edged chances either side of half-time as their fans continued to heap pressure on Danish players with whistles and boos.
