A few days after two Polish people were killed in a missile strike, the Poland national football team was escorted by F-16 fighter aircraft on its way to the World Cup in Qatar on Thursday. In a video uploaded to the team’s official Twitter account, two fighter jets can be seen flying next to a plane bearing the words “Republic of Poland.”
The Polish National Football Team also posted a picture of one of the F-16 jets that were circling the aircraft.
The national team’s aircraft was allegedly followed by the warplanes until it left Polish airspace, according to Polish news sources. Later, the team arrived in Doha, the capital of Qatar, without incident. On November 22, the team will play in its first World Cup match.
Two people were killed on Tuesday when a Soviet-era rocket crashed into the small village of Przewodow, prompting the Polish government to take extraordinary safety precautions about the national soccer team’s travel arrangements.
Poland is a member of NATO, and the fatal incident marked the first time a missile fired during Russia’s war in Ukraine directly impacted territory protected by the organization, raising worries about a possible escalation.
The Polish national team is in Group C along with Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Argentina. They will play Saudi Arabia four days after playing the Mexican national team on November 22.
On November 30, Poland’s final group-stage game is scheduled. They will compete against Argentina, one of the favorites to win the competition, led by Lionel Messi.
Ironically, despite finishing far behind England in qualification, the Poles received a bye in their play-off semifinal because Russia was disqualified for invading Ukraine. To qualify for the World Cup, they had to defeat Sweden at home by a score of 2-0.