Portugal vs Poland Preview

Portugal will look to continue their impressive Nations League form when they welcome Poland to Porto this Friday.

Both sides met just under five weeks ago in Warsaw, with Portugal recording a 3-1 win that ensuresthey enter the penultimate round of Group A1 game top of the table. This will be the 15th H2H between the sides and the seventh from 2007 onwards, a period in which Portugal have not lost any of the contests (W3, D3).

The hosts will look to extend that sequence, as well as continue a very impressive home record since September 2021 (W19, L2). Unbeaten (W3, D1) and top of the table ahead of this round, Roberto Martinez’s side only need a point to secure a fourth successive Nations League top-two finish and book their spot in the quarter finals.

Meanwhile, Poland will look to get the better of Portugal for the first time since 2007 when they visit the Estádio do Dragão. The visitors come into this tie without a win from their last three games (D1, L2) and with captain Robert Lewandowski out with a lower back injury.

And given that they sit three points behind Croatia in second and six behind Portugal, victory here could be their only option if they want to still be in quarter-final contention come the end of the night. A solid defensive performance would help the Eagles’ chances but that seems unlikely as Michał Probierz’s side have not kept a clean sheet across their last nine games whilst conceding five first half goals in their last two matches.

They are the joint top scorers in the group though, and combined with an away record of only one defeat (W3, D1) over the last 13 months, Poland should arrive in Portugal with a glimmer of hope.