The Teranga Lions went ahead in the 37th minute after Thiago Cionek deflected an Idrissa Gana Gueye shot into his own net, then doubled their lead in the half hour mark courtesy of Mbaye Niang.
Poland pulled one back with four minutes of normal time left to play, but it only served as a consolation in the end as the Africans clung on to kick-start their campaign on a positive note.
This was the second Group H game after Japan had snatched a 2-1 win over Colombia earlier on.
The Teranga Lions played a high tempo game from the very beginning, chasing down the Polish players whenever they got the ball.
President Macky Sall was in the Spartak Stadium to witness his team grab the crucial victory, and he will be pleased by the manner in which they showed commitment.
Sall kept on sending encouraging tweets from the VIP box, and at one point could be seen jumping in joy as his team proved too strong for the Poland side.
Continuez vos efforts après ce beau début de match, battez-vous comme des Lions et faites honneur à notre pays ! Nous sommes 15 millions de Lions derrière vous 🦁🇸🇳 #SEN #POLSEN #kebetu #DemBaJeex #SunuMondial2018 pic.twitter.com/BJELRXlPQe
— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) June 19, 2018
The second round of games is set to begin later tonight with another African team – Egypt – clashing with the host Russia.
Egypt will be seeking a win to avoid becoming the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. The Pharaohs are however buoyed by the return of star player Mohamed Salah who has been included in the starting line-up tonight.
