Questions remain over Poland as they come into this tough UEFA Nations League (UNL) encounter against Portugal on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Croatia last month. That defeat went some way to undoing the positivity garnered from an opening-round win away against Scotland (3-2) and extended their rather poor recent record of just one win in five matches (D1, L3), which included a group stage exit from Euro 2024.
In many ways then, it’s not been the first year in charge that manager Michał Probierz would have hoped for. With Poland having never dropped out of League A in this competition, there’ll be some pressure to get back on track soon rather than later, but doing so here looks tough due not only to form, but also a run of five H2Hs without a win (D3, L2).
Portugal’s decision to stick with manager Roberto Martínez looks to be paying off so far after they made a perfect start to this UNL campaign, beating both Croatia and Scotland by the same 2-1 scoreline to take an early lead in Group A1. Those results also continued a record of conceding no more than a single goal in seven of their past eight matches (W6, L2).
Despite Portugal’s solid start in the competition, they’ve yet to be tested on the road, with their last away game in this competition coming over two years ago – an emphatic 4-0 win over Czech Republic. The more recent surprise 2-0 defeat to Slovenia in friendly action in March – Portugal’s last road game away from tournament action – does suggest Martínez’s men can take nothing for granted here.
Players to watch: Another goal for veteran Robert Lewandowski would see him climb into the top seven of top international men’s goalscorers (G84), and you’d not bet against him with five Barcelona goals in his last two appearances, all of which arrived before the hour mark. It’s been a slow start for Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United this season – he’s picked up more red cards than goals, but did score in his last appearance for Portugal against Scotland.
Hot streak: Each of the last three Portugal games to produce goals all saw one scored inside the opening ten minutes.
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