How I stopped Lewandowski, reveals Nigeria's Balogun

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Monday Mar 26, 2018. 11:00

Nigeria international Leon Balogun has revealed how he stopped Poland's dangerous marksman Robert Lewandowski.

The Mainz 05 defender had good game as Nigeria edged out Poland 1-0 in an international friendly match at the Municipal Stadium in Wrocław on Friday.

Balogun said he knew how to stop the Bayern Munich striker because he has faced him several times in the German Bundesliga.

''It helped that I have played against him many times in the past," Balogun said on All Nigeria Soccer.

"So, I was able to tell my team mates what he is most likely to do in terms of his movements.

Poland captain Lewandowski came close to scoring in the eighth minute, but the ball hit the frame of the goal.

''It shows his quality that he still hit the post in the first half and in the second half we relied on Francis (Udoho) to make a save to deny him," he added.

Balogun reportedly picked up a knee injury against Poland and will undergo a fitness test ahead of Tuesday's friendly game against Serbia at the Hive Stadium in London.

Nigeria are using the games as part of their preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals which will be hosted by Russia between June and July.