France vs Poland Preview

France will look to seal their progression to the next round of the 2024 European Championship this Tuesday when they face Poland in their last group game of the tournament.

Les Bleus have ammassed four points from their opening two games. They narrowly won their first game (1-0) against Austria and then followed that up with a goalless draw against the Netherlands last time. That draw and four points on the board mean that there is still a lot to play for in this group.

With the Netherlands up against Austria in the other Group D game, Didier Deschamps’ side will qualify from this group if they lose here and the Netherlands defeat Austria. They could also secure a top-two finish in this group with a draw regardless of results elsewhere, while a win will make them outright group winners.

So, winning this game will be their target as they look to extend their unbeaten run against Poland in competitive matches to four games (W1, D2). However, Les Bleus haven’t won their final group stage match at any of the last eight major tournaments (World Cup/European Championships) they’ve partaken in (D4, L4), a run which, should they extend, would make it impossible to top the group.

After losing their opening two group games by a combined scoreline of 5-2, Poland are already out of the 2024 European Championship. The lack of game time for record appearance holder and goalscorer Robert Lewandowski hasn’t helped their cause with the Barcelona man nursing a thigh injury.

He did come on against Austria, though, but his presence did little to stop another second half collapse from Poland, whose two defeats so far has been decided by goals after the hour mark. The omens don’t look good for signing off on a high either, as the Poles have lost three of their last four group-stage finales at the European Championships.