Poland captain Robert Lewandowski led European qualifying with 16 goals, one more than Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and scored five goals in a nine-minute span for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg in February.
Senegal’s Sadio Mane scored 20 goals this season for Liverpool, including 10 in the Champions League, and had the fastest hat- trick in the Premier League history when he got three goals in a 176-second span for Southampton against Aston Villa in May 2015.
Led by dynamic attackers in their prime, both nations return to the World Cup on Tuesday night after lengthy absences. A winner would have a good chance to advance from a group that includes Colombia and Japan.
But, Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals on Tuesday.
Poland relies on Lewandowski for goals but he will first have to find a way past Kalidou Koulibaly, who in four seasons at Napoli has become one of European club football’s most accomplished defenders, in an intriguing personal duel.
Little known before he was signed by Napoli in 2014, Koulibaly has been a rock at the heart of the Napoli defence and has played a key role in helping to transform it into one of Serie A’s top sides.
A mountain of a man as his nickname suggests, Koulibaly combines his physical presence with intelligence and an excellent technique which belies his somewhat ungainly appearance, and very little gets past him.
His performances for Napoli at one point attracted the attention of France coach Didier Deschamps, unaware that Koulibaly, who was born in France to Senegalese parents, had already chosen to play for the Lions of Teranga.
