Robert Lewandowski will face Japan with a point to prove says head coach Akira Nishino. Poland is set to square it our with Japan on Thursday in the final game of H and Nishino is aware of Lewandowski’s threat. Adam Nawalka’s side has endured a disappointing campaign in Russia, with back-to-back defeats to Senegal and Colombia meaning they cannot progress to the last 16. Lewandowski has cut a particularly frustrated figure and has yet to get on the scoresheet, despite having struck 16 times in just 10 appearances in qualifying. But Nishino, whose side need only a point to guarantee their place in the knockouts, is wary of underestimating their opponents’ determination to bow out of the competition on a high.
“There’s no such thing as a consolation match. I’m sure Poland would like to play for pride, and there’s Lewandowski, a world-class striker. I’m sure he’ll come out to try to score a goal,” he said. “Poland qualified from Europe, which is very tough, but we had two very tough matches and still earned points. That’s given us confidence. There might be some issues with the conditions but we want to keep hold of the ball as much as possible and continue with Japanese football,” he added.