(Football news) Robert Lewandowski failed to open his World Cup duck when his second-half penalty was saved by the Ochoa in an entertaining goalless draw with Mexico in their opening Group C game at Stadium 974. Lewandowski earned a penalty after a VAR check 11 minutes into the second half when it was deemed that Hector Moreno fouled him in the box. But the Polish striker, who has never scored a World Cup goal, saw his shot saved by the brilliant Guillermo Ochoa. In a temporary stadium with 974 recycled shipping containers that overlooks the Arabian Gulf, there was a sea of Mexico fans in green which easily outnumbered their Polish counterparts and they made their presence felt in the stadium.

The match was a flowing game with few fouls but the match sprung to life around the half-hour mark when Alexis Vega saw his header fly wide before Jesus Gallardo was denied with a brilliant tackle when he had an open goal to aim for two minutes later. Mexico had the majority of the possession but without Raul Jimenez leading the attack, Henry Martin struggled upfront. At the other end, Poland failed to get Lewandowski involved who is exceptionally form having scored 18 goals for the Spanish club this season but he received very little service as both keepers finished the first half without having to make a single save.

Poland were losing the midfield battle as Coach Czeslaw Michniewicz brought on Kystian Bielik instead of Zalewski at half-time which allowed Piotr Zielinski to play in an advanced role. The tactical change seemed to work for Poland as they began to create chances and eventually won the penalty which Lewandowski fumbled but credit to Ochoa who guessed correctly and dived to his left to deny the Polish skipper. Wojciech Szczesny also saved his team moments later when he reacted quickly to change direction and deny Martin's glancing header that was on target. Gerardo Martino replaced Martin and brought on Jimenez with 20 minutes to go in the second half but the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, who is returning after a long injury lay-off, failed to get a shot on goal.

"These things happen," Michniewicz said of Lewandowski's saved penalty. "Great players haven't been scoring at great tournaments for as long as I can remember. Zico, Socrates, [Michel] Platini, [Diego] Maradona — from those championships I remember — but also many other great footballers."

"We were on the front foot in the first half, we deserved an advantage at halftime," Martino said, adding that they became "predictable and cautious" as the game wore on. "The penalty was a mistake from us, but in general terms I think we should have won the game given what we did in the first half."

"Today I feel sorry for Robert, because I know how much he wanted to score at the World Cup," Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said. "So far he has not succeeded, but I hope that in the next opportunities that lie ahead of him he will convert them into goals."

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