Robert Lewandowski’s terrible evening. Poles couldn’t stand it in Lithuania
On the occasion of Sunday’s match between Lithuania and Poland as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the following is remembered: clash of both teams in March 2011. Also in Kaunas.
Poles were at the stage of preparations for the key event, Euro 2012. The hosts of the tournament were Poland and Ukraine. Coach Franciszek Smuda’s team wanted to perform as best as possible in a historic event. The vast majority of Polish national team fans probably remember how it turned out in the end. Unfortunately, according to the classic scenario: Opening match, match for everything and match for honor. Although the fact is that until the end the Poles could have advanced to the knockout phase, but they lost match number 3, narrowly losing to the Czechs in Wrocław (0:1).
Riots in Kaunas. A terrible evening for Robert Lewandowski
It is no accident that “Przegląd Sportowy” placed a report from Kaunas on its cover, with a telling title: “Shame!” The Polish national team did not present anything in Lithuania that could be positive in a broader context.
The Poles lost 0:2 to the Lithuanians. Interestingly, the Polish national team’s attack featured none other than Robert Lewandowski. However, “Lewy” was just making his way in international football, and a big stage was waiting for the Polish sniper. But the fact is that together with his teammates from the national team, Lewandowski had a terrible evening in Kaunas.
It was March 25, 2011. Due to the lack of heated turf, the condition of the turf at that time was worse than bad. However, this is no explanation, because the Lithuanians and Poles had exactly the same pitch conditions. Poland started the match with: Sebastian Małkowski – Łukasz Piszczek, Arkadiusz Głowacki, Kamil Glik, Maciej Sadlok – Dariusz Dudka, Rafał Murawski, Adrian Mierzejewski – Jakub Błaszczykowski, Ludovic Obraniek – Robert Lewandowski. Apart from goalkeeper Małkowski making his debut in the national team, it is difficult to describe this team as a “reserve”.
Such a poor performance by the Poles greatly irritated the national team’s fans. The huge group of fans who appeared in the stands in Kaunas expressed this by making a big fuss and clashing, among others. with law enforcement services. The riots with the Poles are also mentioned on the occasion of the upcoming match, already during the term of coach Jan Urban. About 4,000 fans from Poland showed up in Lithuania. The services are on high alert.
Lithuania – Poland. When and where to watch the national football team match?
The Lithuania-Poland match will take place on Sunday, October 12. The match will start at 20:45, the venue will be the stadium in Kaunas. It is worth adding that in the first match of both teams, at the PGE Narodowy, the hosts were slightly better (1-0), winning after a goal scored by Robert Lewandowski.
The qualifying clash between Lithuanians and Poles will be shown on: TVP 1, TVP Sport, Polsat Sport 2 – and on the Internet – among others. via the TVP Sport mobile application, although you can also use the Polsat Box Go platform.
The last international break, closing the qualifying rounds for next year’s World Cup, will take place in November. First, the hit clash between Poland and the Netherlands (14/11) at the PGE National Stadium, perhaps for direct promotion to the World Championships, and at the end of the qualifying competition, the departure of the Poles and the match between Malta and Poland (17/11).
