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Poland & Portugal Battle In Nations League

Domestic football has been put on pause for a few weeks, as is usually the case at this time of year. Instead, we’ll be enjoying some international football, some of which will be great, and some of which will not. The parade of friendlies tend to leave a sour taste in most fans’ mouths, mainly because there just doesn’t really seem to be any kind of meaning behind the games. Sure, we can get some great moments and goals out of them, but beyond that you really do have to question where the positives can be found beyond the financial aspect of things.

Still, whether you love the concept or you don’t, the UEFA Nations League is here in order to give us a more competitive alternative to the friendlies. The logic behind the idea appears to be that nations of the same quality level will battle against one another, with qualification for the European Championships in two years time also being up for grabs. It seems as if this is being done in order to give the smaller nations a chance to succeed, but nonetheless, at least UEFA are trying to piece together something that’ll work for all of the fans.

It seems to be working in terms of the quality of the ‘matchmaking’ so to speak, with Poland vs Portugal being one of the more intriguing showdowns this week. On one side you’ve got a country who have been performing way below expectations for quite some time, and on the other, you’ve got a team that has been dragged kicking and screaming towards success by one man and one man only. The contrast is quite staggering, and yet, most fans will continue to consider them as equals: and that’s because, for the most part, they are.

In terms of their accomplishments they’re quite far apart, but beyond all of that, it’s a cultural match up that we find quite intriguing. You’ve got two nations who are polar opposites in terms of their location in Europe, and yet their playing styles are quite similar. They’re rigid despite possessing some great attacking talents, and they’ve got superstars littered throughout the squad. So then – the question remains as to what both nations need to do in order to be viewed as one of the elite nations in European football, with there being a handful of their peers ahead of them in the pecking order.

The Poles have had an intriguing time of it in their last six games, with their failures at the World Cup being well noted amongst the football community. They managed to secure a 4-0 win over Lithuania in preparation for their trip over to Russia, but back to back defeats against Senegal and Colombia in Group H left them wondering what could’ve been. They managed to pick up a 1-0 win over Japan in their final outing so that they had something to come home with, but draws against Italy and Ireland respectively since then prove that there’s still a long way to go.

Portugal, on the other hand, were a little bit more successful during the World Cup – but not by much. Their 3-3 draw against Spain is still considered by many to be the Game of the Tournament, but an unconvincing 1-0 win over Morocco followed by a less than inspiring 1-1 draw against Iran left many wondering how far they’d be able to go. Alas, their questions were answered in the Round of 16 when they crashed out against Uruguay, although a draw against Croatia and a win against Italy since then should give them cause for optimism ahead of the rest of their Nations League adventure.

These are two nations that have battled fairly rarely over the years, such is the nature of international football. Still, their 11 encounters have always been fascinating to watch, with Portugal leading the overall head to head standings 5-3 with three draws between them. They last met in a UEFA Euro 2016 quarter-final game, that finished 1-1 after extra time. Then, in heartbreaking fashion, Portugal knocked the Poles out on penalties en route to winning the whole tournament. Now, though, things are different, and you can bet that they’ll be out for revenge in this one.

The most notable absence from the Portuguese squad this time around is Cristiano Ronaldo who, despite his age, is still considered to be the talisman for the senior squad. His many years of hard work and fantastic play led to Portugal’s eventual Euro 2016 triumph, although with him gone, Andre Silva could be given the chance to shine in his place. He scored the winner against Italy last month and appears to be in great form domestically, and elsewhere in the squad there are several young stars that have begun their rise up through the ranks.

Poland, on the other hand, will be celebrating a big achievement from their own main man: Robert Lewandowski. The legendary forward will be celebrating his 100th cap if he features in this game, and you just know that he’s going to put on a show because of that. He’s been at the forefront of Polish football throughout the majority of his career, and while there are other talented names in their ranks, many fans will probably feel a little bit worried about where the future of their national team lies once Lewandowski decides to ride off into the sunset.

Poland vs Portugal Betting Prediction

Given that this isn’t just any other friendly, you’d have to think that both nations will be taking it a little bit more seriously. The Poles have the home advantage which is crucial in any walk of football, especially internationally. They’ll be hoping for a capacity crowd in order to really ramp up the atmosphere against the Portuguese, who will know that many consider them to be the favourites. We’re expecting the visitors to set up quite defensively, looking for that counter attacking goal which we’ve seen from them on so many different occasions throughout the years.

Poland will try and force them back from the word go, and if they can hit their top form, then we have no doubt that they’ll come away with the three points. They’re an organised unit at the best of times and they could really do some damage to this defence, especially if they catch them off guard earlier on. It certainly isn’t going to be easy and we’re expecting a pretty entertaining back and forth duel, especially if Poland can edge themselves in front. For an official prediction, we’re going to go with Poland controlling the tempo and grinding out a 2-0 win to set them on their way to better days in the Nations League.