Poland and Wales will kick off their UEFA Nations League Group 4 journey on Wednesday in Wroclaw. Wales were promoted to League A after a successful tournament in 2020-21. Now, Rob Page is aiming to get the side into the Nations League semifinals.
The Polish qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 thanks to the playoffs. Now, Poland are aiming to improve on their previous results at the UEFA Nations League.
🏴 Rob Page has announced his squad for the upcoming @FIFAWorldCup play-off final and UEFA Nations League matches.#TogetherStronger— FA WALES (@FAWales) May 19, 2022
🏴 Rob Page has announced his squad for the upcoming @FIFAWorldCup play-off final and UEFA Nations League matches.#TogetherStronger
The teams are joined in Group 4 by Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium finished fourth at the most recent UEFA Nations League. The Netherlands reached the final of the inaugural Nations League tournament before losing to Portugal in the trophy game.
Wales have played Poland eight times previously. The Welsh have a weak head-to-head record against Poland with 1W-2D-5L all time. These teams have not met since 2009 and a lot has changed for both nations.
The Welsh are ranked No. 18 in the world. They are in brilliant form ahead of the fixture in Wroclaw with nine straight matches ending as a win or draw.
Wales may have bigger things on their minds ahead of Wednesday’s match in Poland, however. The Welsh qualified for the UEFA World Cup qualification playoff final. The game will be played in June 5 against either Scotland or Ukraine in Cardiff.
Poland dismissed head coach Paulo Sousa in December 2021 and replaced him with Czesław Michniewicz. Since taking over, Michniewicz has coached just two games, drawing a friendly with Scotland 1-1 and defeating Sweden in a World Cup qualification playoff final 2-0.
The Polish go into the game ranked No. 26 in the world according to FIFA. Captain Robert Lewandowski may have question marks surrounding him this offseason regarding Bayern Munich, but the striker is in the squad for the UEFA Nations League. He has 75 goals in 129 games for the national team.
Aston Villa’s Matty Cash could start at full-back for Poland. He qualifies for the Polish national team through his mother. Cash has four caps already.
Page has had a number of players suffering from injuries with their club teams in recent months. Gareth Bale ended his Real Madrid career by winning the La Liga title and Champions League. Yet, he played no part in recent Madrid games.
Bale needs to get fit fast for the World Cup qualification playoff final. Aaron Ramsey, who returned at the end of the season from injury for Rangers, should start along with Bale in a bid to get fit.
Both teams are in good form ahead of the match this week. The in-form nature of both sides should see a hard fought, low-scoring draw at the end of 90 minutes. This game could finish nil-nil.