Poland will face Austria in the UEFA Euro 2024 Group D on Friday, looking to bounce back from the disappointing defeat against the Netherlands in their group opener.
Poland managed to put in a decent performance against the Netherlands, and they are certainly capable of grinding out all three points vs Austria at the Olympiastadion on Friday evening. They cannot afford another defeat if they want to progress through to the next round of the competition, and this will be a crucial outing for them.
Meanwhile, Austria played out a draw against France on Monday night, and they will look to pick up their first win of the tournament here. Ralf Rangnick has a quality squad at his disposal, and he will certainly fancy his team’s chances of beating Poland here.
Both teams will be desperate for the win here, and they cannot afford any slip-ups. It remains to be seen who comes out on top. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Poland
Bartosz Salamon could miss out for Poland with a finger injury. Other than that, the Eagles have a fully-fit squad to choose from. Poland will shape up in a 3-5-2 formation vs Austria, with Wojciech Szczesny goal.
In the back three, Jan Bednarek will start alongside Pawel Dawidowicz and Jakub Kiwior. Przemyslaw Frankowski and Nicola Zalewski will start as the wing-backs, and they will look to help out in the attack and protect the central defenders as well.
Bartosz Slisz will start as the defensive midfielder here, and he will look to protect the back three and break up opposition attacks. Jakub Piotrowski will start alongside Piotr Zielinski in the middle of the park, and they will look to add creativity and control to the side.
Sebastian Szymanski will start as the second striker here, and he will look to link up with Robert Lewandowski.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Bednarek, Dawidowicz, Kiwior; Slisz; Frankowski, Zielinski, Piotrowski, Zalewski; Lewandowski, Szymanski
Austria
Ralf Rangnick have a fully-fit squad to choose from, and he should be able to field a full-strength starting eleven. Austria are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Poland, with Patrick Pentz in goal.
Philipp Mwene and Stefan Posch will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out at the back and join in during counter-attacking opportunities. Kevin Danso will start in central defence alongside Max Wober.
As for the midfield unit, Nicolas Siewald will start alongside Konrad Laimer in the double pivot in the middle of the park. Laimer will look to break up opposition attacks and Siewald will add control and composure to the side.
Marcel Sabitzer and Christoph Baumgartner will start in the wide areas here. They will look to create goalscoring opportunities from the wide areas and drop down into the midfield as well. Romano Schmid will start as the central attacking midfielder here behind striker Florian Grillitsch, and he will look to link the midfield with the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pentz; Posch, Danso, Wober, Mwene; Siewald, Laimer; Sabitzer, Schmid, Baumgartner; Grillitsch
Key Stats
- Poland are undefeated in their last five matches vs Austria in all competitions.
- Poland have picked five wins and a defeat from their last six matches.
- Austria have picked up four wins and a draw from their last six matches.
- Poland have seen under 2.5 goals in their last three matches vs Austria in all competitions.
- Adam Buksa can become the first Poland player to score in each of his first two games at the European Championship on Friday. At major tournaments, the only Poles to do so previously are Grzegorz Lato and Andrzej Starmach at the 1974 World Cup against Argentina and Haiti.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
The Polish captain missed the last game through an injury, but he is set to return for this one. He is one of the best strikers in the world. The 35-year-old will look to make his mark in the European Championships and guide his side to the next round of the competition.
Lewandowski scored 26 goals for Barcelona this past season, and he will look to get on the scoresheet here. Apart from his ability to find the back of the net, he is an exceptional player who will help create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates as well. The Barcelona forward is our player to watch out for.
Prediction
Poland 1-1 Austria
Both teams are quite evenly matched, and they should be a cracking contest. They will be looking to pick up a win here and give themselves a better chance of making it to the knockout rounds of the tournament.
Neither side will want to end up on the losing side and they could take a cautious approach here. The two teams could end up cancelling each other out. A goalscoring draw seems quite likely between the two teams tomorrow. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 stalemate between the two sides.
