Both Poland and Slovakia are in such position that they have an arduous task before them so as to qualify for the knock-outs. It will surely leave the viewers at the edge of the seat, as the two teams can’t risk losing points at this juncture.
While Slovakia comes with the baggage of being the dark horse out of the rest of the teams in Group E during this time, they have to showcase whatever it takes to get ahead.
On the other side, Poland has witnessed the ebb and flow in the last year and will need to fight against all odds in the upcoming weeks. Despite not being in this best form, the Polish team has managed to pull up a string or two, by striking two draws, with only one defeat in its last three matches.
History
Slovakia has won four out of eight matches played against Poland, and the latter clinched three wins against Slovaks.
The last time both the teams had an encounter was in 2013, culminating in a 2-0 victory for Slovakia.
That said, Poland have shown noteworthy improvement in the last few years and are all set to put up a steely fight against Slovakia.
Achilles’ heel
Poland has witnessed a major setback in the absence of players Krzysztof Piatek, Arkadiusz Milik, Krystian Bielik, and Arkadiusz Reca, who have been subjected to physical injuries. Player Jan Bednarek is only gradually showing signs of recovery, and it is sceptical, whether he will be able to play in this match.
Marek Hamsik has gotten well after being plagued by his fitness issues, and will have an integral role to play for his team Slovakia. When compared to Poland and the slew of health issues or injuries the players have been facing, the only injured Slovak player is Ivan Schranz, who will not be playing in the match. It is expected that veteran Michal Duris will take Schranz’s place at the front.
Probablities and previous achievements
Poland hasn’t been able to win a single match during their two warm-up games held recently, Having won a 1-1 draw against Russia, they went on to mark a 2-2 draw against Iceland.
Slovakia has had a five-match winning streak with four draws and one win. Both Poland and Slovakia have a commonality, with regard to not having a single win in their two warm-up matches against Bulgaria and Austria, before the tournament.
Paulo Sousa, who has done all the handholding for Poland as coach, has laid all his trust on captain Robert Lewandowski, who is considered one of the best of all time. He is the country’s leading scorer with 66 goals out of 118 appearances. He recently surpassed Bundesliga’s record for goals with 41 of them for Bayern Munich in 29 appearances. The Slovaks, however, will try to get leverage on their counterpart’s difficult times of multiple injuries.
