Two Napoli players were in action on Sunday: Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski.
Set Piece Struggles
Stanislav Lobotka played the full 90 minutes in Slovakia’s 1-1 draw to Belarus. Once again, Lobotka lined up as the regista in Francesco Calzona’s 4-3-3 formation.
Though Slovakia controlled the run of play, Belarus opened the scoring from a corner kick late in the first half. The goal was eerily similar to the late winner Slovakia conceded to Azerbaijan only four days prior.
Substitute Adam Zreľák scored an acrobatic equalizer midway through the second half to earn Calzona’s first point since taking over as coach. The match was of little consequence for Slovakia, who could finish no worse than third in League C, Group 3, regardless of the result against Belarus.
Zielu in Attack
Zielinski played the full 90 minutes in Poland’s 0-1 victory over Wales. Zielinksi was once again the protagonist of many Poland chances, particularly in the first half.
In the 19th minute, he played Szymon Żurkowski clear on goal but the midfielder ran out of steam in the area. Just over five minutes later, Zielinski picked out Robert Lewandowski in the area with an in-swinging free kick from the left wing, but the Barcelona striker didn’t make good contact on the header. Lewandowski returned the favour five minutes before the break, teeing up the Napoli midfielder just outside the area. Zielinski’s made a quick turn to his left before putting a powerful strike on target, but he caught too much of the goal and Wayne Hennessey made the save.
Zielinski played the pass before the pass before the pass on Karol Świderski’s goal in the second half, but it was Lewandowski who was rightfully praised for his deft touch to assist on the goal. Zielinski played a defensive role for the balance of the second half as Wales press for the equalizer, but to no avail.
With the win, Poland maintained their place in League A, while Wales were relegated to League B.
