Analysis and predictions for Poland vs Croatia: Emotions will run high.
The Poland vs Croatia Nations League match will take place at 1:45 AM on October 16th. Nghe An Newspaper provides statistics, analysis of form, football predictions, and a score prediction for this match.
Latest information on the Poland vs Croatia squad
Poland were without the trio of Bartlomiej Dragowski, Mateusz Skrzypczak, and Kacper Kozlowski before their defeat to Portugal, with defender Sebastian Walukiewicz being substituted in the first half. However, that change may have been tactical from coach Probierz's side, as Walukiewicz had received a yellow card just before halftime; in any case, Arsenal's Jakub Kiwior is a viable replacement.
Top scorer and most-capped player Robert Lewandowski failed to increase his national team goals tally to 84 on Saturday, but the Barcelona forward is sure to reappear in an attacking role on Tuesday, likely to partner with new club Krzysztof Piatek.
On the Croatian side, Manchester City star Mateo Kovacic was absent from the match against Scotland due to the birth of his child, although coach Dalic hoped he would be able to feature in Tuesday's game.
Mario Pasalic was expected to partner veteran Modric at the weekend, but the Atalanta BC midfielder was substituted midway through the match, so Kovacic is likely to be called up to replace his former Chelsea teammate if he recovers in time.
However, whether Modric will be able to play two consecutive games in such a short period remains to be seen – the 39-year-old played the full 90 minutes on Saturday and may be rested.
Latest predicted lineups for Poland vs Croatia
Poland:
Skorupski; Dawidowicz, Bednarek, Kiwior; Frankowski, Zielinski, Szymanski, Urbanski, Zalewski; Piatek, Lewandowski
Croatia:
Livakovic; Gvardiol, Caleta-Car, Sutalo; Perisic, Modric, Kovacic, Sosa; Sucic, Matanovic, Kramaric
Latest football match prediction: Poland vs Croatia
Trying to overcome Roberto Martinez's Portugal winning machine proved too much for Poland on Saturday night, as Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Selecao a two-goal lead before the half-time whistle.
Piotr Zielinski pulled one back late in the game, creating a tense finish, but Jan Bednarek scored an own goal, restoring Portugal's two-goal lead in the final minutes of the defeat, which was Poland's fourth loss in their last six matches.
The high-scoring victory against Scotland was initially the perfect remedy for an early elimination from the Euro group stage, but after consecutive defeats against Croatia and Portugal, the "Eagles" are now third in their group.
With this position, Michal Probierz's team will have to try to maintain their place in League A through the promotion/relegation playoffs in the spring, while Scotland are only three points behind Poland, putting them at risk of being relegated from the top tier of the Nations League for the first time in their history.
Furthermore, Poland has lost all three of their most recent home matches in this tournament, scoring only one goal, despite facing strong European teams such as Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
While Poland lamented what could have happened against Ronaldo and his teammates, Croatia ensured that Ryan Christie's opening goal for Scotland in Zagreb meant nothing in the bigger picture, as Zlatko Dalic's side came from behind to keep Steve Clarke and his men pointless in this group.
Igor Matanovic and Andrej Kramaric reacted promptly to Christie's opening goal, but Che Adams temporarily thought he had leveled the score for the visitors, only for VAR to disallow the Torino striker's goal, allowing Croatia to continue enjoying two consecutive victories in the Nations League.
Croatia's goal is to replicate or surpass last year's final-place run – where they were denied a long-awaited international title by Spain – and they are currently close to securing a place in the quarter-finals, sitting in second place, three points behind a perfect record of Portugal.
Having lost all five of their first Nations League away games, the 2018 World Cup runners-up have now won four of their last five matches played outside their home territory, with the exception of a narrow defeat to Portugal just over a month ago.
However, Croatia immediately responded to that setback with a 1-0 victory over Poland – Luka Modric scoring the winning goal, giving the "Checkers" four wins in six encounters with the "Eagles," while Poland only managed one success in a 2006 friendly. Lewandowski couldn't carry Poland, who had struggled for months, although Croatia were fortunate to secure all three points against Scotland.
Although the away team may have the edge on paper, it would be no surprise if the match in Warsaw ended in a low-scoring draw, as both teams are still fiercely competing for a top-two spot.
Predicting the score for Poland vs Croatia
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Poland vs Croatiaas follows:
- Sportsmole:Poland vs Croatia
- WhoScore:Poland vs Croatia
- Our newspaper predicts:Poland vs Croatia
When and where can I watch Poland vs Croatia live?
To watch the Poland vs Croatia match live in the Nations League, taking place at 1:45 AM on October 16th, viewers can tune in to TV360.hereMyTV systemhereor on online sports channels. We wish you enjoyable football viewing moments.