Opportunistic Niang capitalises on Poland's defensive howler
M'Baye Niang struck his first goal for Senegal to lead the side to a 2-1 win over Poland in their Group H encounter on Tuesday.
Published : Jun 19, 2018 23:10 IST
When you think of the Senegal football team, the first name that comes to mind is undoubtedly the side's charismatic captain, Sadio Mane. However, on Tuesday, it was M'Baye Niang who stole the limelight.
The forward rounded Poland 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny to blast the ball into an open net in the 59th minute to guide Senegal to a 2-1 win over Poland. Incidentally, it was also Niang's first goal for the national side.
However, there is a lot of talk surrounding the legality of the goal. Niang, who was out on the sidelines receiving treatment, simply raised his hand to signal to the referee, who acknowledged, and ran on to the pitch to score the winner, much to the agony of the Polish players.
Poland's Grzegorz Krychowiak played a woeful long ball back to his 'keeper and Niang, who ran onto the pitch at this point, made the most of the opportunity and raced past Jan Bednarek, got past on onrushing Szczesny, and shot into an empty net.
ALSO READ: Poland vs Senegal - Key highlights Interestingly, Niang began his international career with France. He represented France in the U-16, U-17 and U-21. Born to Senegalese parents, Niang was always eligible to play for the Senegal national side and he made the switch only in 2017. He was made seven appearances for Senegal so far.