Poland vs Saudi Arabia PLAYER RATINGS: Robert Lewandowski has big moment

Poland defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Saturday to assume leadership of World Cup Group C with Piotr Zielinski and Robert Lewandowski on target.

But they rode their luck at times, not least when keeper Wojciech Szczesny had to save a penalty from Salem Al-Dawsari late in the first-half.

Sportsmail assesses each of the players involved in our player ratings.

POLAND

Wojciech Szczesny - Essential to Poland's victory with a number of crucial saves in the considerable periods when Saudi Arabia were on top, not least the penalty stop from Salem Al-Dawsari that prevented a swing in momentum. 8/10

Matty Cash - Booked early on and never looked at all comfortable with Saudi Arabia's energetic wide players. He did, however, provide a bit of width on the right side with Zielinski drifting inside. 6

Jakub Kiwior - Was troubled by Saudi Arabia's tricky forwards and didn't always cope well when put under pressure but did just about enough to preserve their clean sheet. 6

Kamil Glik - Solid enough to withstand the pressure of the green-shirted attacks and unafraid to be physical when required to earn his team a battling win. 6.5

Bartosz Bereszynski - Not overly involved down the left side when Poland were pushing forward but had enough on his plate cutting off his portion of the field as an attacking avenue. 6

Piotr Zieliński - Took his goal really nicely, lashing the ball high into the net to offer a measure of relief after Poland's unconvincing first period. Quieter after the break and was taken off just after the hour mark. 7

Grzegorz Krychowiak - Struggled to get a grip at times when the Saudis swarmed through midfield during their spells of ascendancy. 6

Krystian Bielik - Clumsy inside the box to concede the penalty late in the first-half and is experienced enough to know Al-Shehri was looking for the contract. 5

Przemyslaw Frankowski - Didn't carry a great deal of threat as he faded in and out of the contest. 5

Arkadiusz Milik - Struck the crossbar with a header with the game delicately poised at 1-0, having picked up a booking early on. 6

Robert Lewandowski - Scoring his first World Cup goal was clearly an emotional moment as his eyes teared up. Had struck the post with a mishit shot before being gifted his long-awaited goal. Almost added a second late on but was denied by the keeper. 7

SUBSTITUTES

Jakub Kamiński (for Zieliński 63mins) - 6

Krzysztof Piątek (for Milik 71 mins) - 5

SAUDI ARABIA

Mohammed Al-Owais - Was heroic against Argentina but couldn't keep Poland at bay, though he did make a few decent stops. Could hardly be blamed for either goal and was very rapid off his line to clear the danger. 6.5

Saud Abdulhamid - Caused something of a threat pushing forward on both flanks, having swapped over at half-time. Was certainly willing to support the attackers at every opportunity. 6

Abdulelah Al-Amri - Played some excellent long diagonal balls to try and get his team moving forwards but ultimately they could't withstand the Polish pressure. 6.5

Ali Al-Boleahi - Not in the right place to react to Lewandowski getting to the ball to tee up the opening goal 6

Mohammed Al-Breik - Should have put away the rebound after Szczesny saved the penalty from Al-Dawsari but allowed the keeper to get a crucial touch. Involved a good deal. 6

Mohammed Kanno - The Saudis best player, he bristled with intent and energy, charging all over the midfield and taking a few whacks for his troubles. 7

Abdulelah Al-Malki - Just a momentary lapse when he turned and gave the ball straight to Lewandowski for the decisive goal overshadowed his whole performance. 5

Sami Al-Najei - Came into the side and didn't put a foot wrong but was taken off at the interval nonetheless. 6

Firas Al-Buraikan - Put one chance over under pressure but the angle was quite tight. Looked one of the more likely players to piece the Polish back line. 6.5

Saleh Al-Shehri - A constant thorn in the side of Poland, winning the penalty off Bielik that so nearly changed the course of the match. 7

Salem Al-Dawsari - After his heroics the other day, the penalty miss will certainly sting. It was far from the best spot-kick and lacked power. Otherwise was a real threat. 6

SUBSTITTUES

Nawaf Al-Abid (for Al-Najei 46mins) - 6 - Did bring a little bit more energy to the midfield during the second-half as Saudi Arabia sought to come from behind.

Sultan Al-Ghannam (for Al-Breik 65mins) - 5

Abdulrahman Al-Obed (for Al-Malik 85mins)

Nasser Al-Dawsari (for Al-Shehri 86mins)

Hattan Bahebri (for Al-Abid 90+5mins)