Poland were diabolical at last summer’s World Cup and followed it up with relegation in the UEFA Nations League.
Manager Jerzy Brzeczek will hope for much better on Thursday night when Poland clash with Austria in their Euro 2020 qualifier.
The two nations will kick off Group G play and both will feel good about their chances for qualification. Poland and Austria are joined by Israel, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Latvia. With the quality in both sides, they will be quietly confident of qualification. But to make the Euro 2020 proper, they must pick up points and it all starts in Vienna.
Austria have played Poland three times in recent years and were unable to defeat their rivals. Two of the three matches ended in wins for Poland and the third in a draw. Meanwhile, all three fixtures ended with over 1.5 goals scored.
Brzeczek’s Poland have not won a competitive match since the World Cup in June 2018. The Polish finished the year with six matches ending without a victory. On three occasions, Poland fell to defeat. Robert Lewandowski will be called upon to lead Poland in Vienna. The Bayern Munich striker has tallied 55 goals in 102 international fixtures. Lewandowski was unable to find form at the World Cup and the team’s exit was partly due to his poor play.
Lewandowski will have help in the attack as in-form AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek has been called up for the match. Piatek was dropped for the World Cup last summer. The decision to leave Piatek at home now seems like one of the most foolish moves ahead of the tournament. Piatek starred for Genoa in the first half of the season scoring 19 goals in 21 games in all competitions. He moved to AC Milan in January where he has bagged eight goals in 10 games in all competitions.
Austria have played six games since September when they kicked off their Nations League campaign. They suffered losses to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Denmark. They did pick up wins over Sweden and two over Northern Ireland. Austria were also able to claim a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their second meeting in the Nations League.
Austria do not have the same top-class strikers as Poland. However, they do have West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic and the big centre forward will be counted on to pressure Poland’s defence. Arnautovic has scored seven times in 22 games this season for West Ham.
Poland last faced off against Austria at the Euro 2008 tournament. The two teams finished in a 1-1 draw at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. It is the same venue that will host Thursday night’s fixture. History will repeat itself in Vienna as Austria and Poland once again play to a 1-1 draw. It isn’t a bad result for either side as they kick off their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.