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Football: Poland to face Croatia in Nations League

15.10.2024 10:45
Poland’s national football team is set to play Croatia in Warsaw on Tuesday in its fourth match of the 2024/2025 UEFA Nations League.
Poland boss Michał Probierz speaks to reporters at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.
Poland boss Michał Probierz speaks to reporters at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

The game kicks off at 8:45 p.m. at the National Stadium in Warsaw.

The Poles, captained by star striker Robert Lewandowski, aim to redeem themselves in front of the home crowd after lackluster performances in the last two Nations League fixtures.

Poland are ranked 30th worldwide by football's governing body FIFA, while Croatia are No. 12 in the FIFA table.

At a pre-match news conference in Warsaw on Monday, Poland manager Michał Probierz said: "Our goal is to stay in the Nations League and aim for the quarterfinals. A win on Tuesday would give us a realistic shot at securing second place in the group."

He added: "However, our primary focus is on building a team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The most important thing is for this group of players to continue developing."

Probierz has previously said that this season's Nations League offers a valuable opportunity to assess players and prepare them for 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Poland opened its Nations League campaign by defeating Scotland 3-2 in Glasgow last month. The Polish team was then beaten 0-1 by Croatia in its second game in Group 1 of the top League A, and lost 1-3 to Portugal at Warsaw's National Stadium on Saturday.

After three rounds of fixtures, Poland are third in their Nations League Group A1, with three points.

The Nations League is the European football governing body UEFA’s newest national-team competition that is now in its fourth edition.

Portugal won the first edition of the Nations League in 2019, while France won the 2020/2021 UEFA Nations League, and Spain triumphed in the 2022/2023 edition.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, TVN24, pzpn.pl