Croatia vs Poland UEFA Nations League Match Preview: Can Croatia Bounce Back After Portugal Loss?

Croatia will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways after suffering a narrow loss against Portugal to begin their run in the competition. The team showed great fighting spirit as they came from two goals down to one in the first half.

The second half was an impressive showing from them as they threatened the Portugal goal numerous times with debutant Igor Matanovic missing several chances. The changes from Zlatko Dalic particularly were spot on as they made a telling impact in the match.

Poland on the other hand secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Scotland to begin the competition on a positive note. The match was a complete drama as Poland surrendered their first-half two-goal lead to take the game deep all square.

Michal Probierz was a relieved man after his side were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes to win the tie. They took it with both hands as Roma’s Nicola Zalewski stepped up to slot the ball into goal.

Croatia vs Poland: Match Preview

Croatia will be looking to put a disappointing European Championship behind them as they host Poland on matchday 2 of the Nations League on Sunday. Zlatko Dalic’s team were dumped out of Euro 2024 at the group stages. They were demolished by Spain in their opening match of the tournament before draws with Albania and Italy. Two points weren’t enough to secure a place in the knockout stages.

Despite their summer setback, Croatia remain a dangerous opponent. They topped their Nations League group last time around, finishing ahead of Denmark, France and Austria, three sides who did make it to the knockout stages of Euro 2024.

Poland also exited the Euros after playing just three matches. They earned their only point in an impressive draw with France in their final group game but never looked like qualifying.

Michal Probierz took over Poland when they were at their lowest ebb for quite some time. He managed to arrest the slump and the upturn in form meant they were able to secure qualification to the Euros by beating Wales. Probierz will want to see his team develop even further ahead of the next World Cup.

Team News

Croatia will be without the services of Lovro Majer, Josip Stanisic and Martin Erlic through injuries. Duje Caleta-Car will be aiming to start here after putting in an impressive performance off the bench against Portugal. Zlatko Dalic will likely make some changes after a strong second-half showing from his team in the last game.

Meanwhile, Poland have all the players available in their squad except for Arkadiusz Milik and Jakub Kiwior who are ruled out due to injury. Kiwior was subbed off in the last match. The rest of the players are available for selection.

Key Players

Luka Modric

Luka Modric considered amongst the best midfielders of the last decade is still mesmerizing the fans with his top-level performance for both club and country. His ability to run the game and create chances through his vision is eye-catching to watch. He often makes things look easy with his all-round play.

He has already smashed over 700 appearances for club and country and doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon to delight the fans with his wonderful play.

Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski is in his prime form this season after opening the new season with four goals in four matches for Barcelona. He also netted a goal in their last match against Scotland to continue his fine run. Lewandowski is the record goal-scorer for Poland after scoring 82 goals for the team since breaking into the side in 2008. He has smashed over 154 appearances till now and is the main man to get the goals for the team courtesy of his brilliant finishing in front of the goal.

Match Details

Date: Sunday, 8 September 2024
Time: 7:45 PM UK / 12:15 AM IST
Location: Opus Arena

Head to Head Record

Total Matches – 5

Croatia – 3

Poland – 1

Draw – 1

Predicted Lineups

Croatia: Livakovic (GK); Caleta-Car, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Susic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Matanovic

Poland: Bulka (GK); Bednarek, Dawidowicz, Walukiewicz; Frankowski, Szymanski, Zielinski, Urbanski, Zalewski; Piatek, Lewandowski

Prediction

Croatia will be aiming to bounce back in this match after enduring a difficult away match against Portugal. With the home support on their side, we expect them to get this over the line. However, given the quality Poland possesses in their squad, a draw looks like a fair result for both teams.

Prediction: ⁠Croatia 2-2 Poland