Prediction: Poland vs Ukraine

Verdict: Ukraine win

Best odds: 33/20

Bookmaker: ZetBet

Poland’s Euro 2024 preparations are ongoing with a difficult home test against Ukraine. The match will be played in Warsaw at PGE Narodowy Stadium where over 50,000 fans will attend the game hoping to see their favourites win.

Poland

Poland has been a regular presence at the final tournaments both at the European and World levels. Qualifying for the previous Qatar World Cup and reaching the round of the last 16 was a great achievement considering the home team was not present at the final tournaments held in South Africa and Argentina.

Furthermore, after participating in the last four consecutive UEFA Euro Championships, the national team led by prolific striker Robert Lewandowski aims to wash away the disappointment of being knocked out in the group phase by finishing last in the Group at Euro 2020. However, Poland will face an even more difficult uphill battle this time after being seeded in a tough group with the Netherlands, Austria and France.

Polish football has declined recently with their domestic club teams failing to perform in Europe. Furthermore, with a few exceptions, most National team players fail to get through the starting line-up at their clubs losing their 1st team position to other players.

More so, this was displayed in Poland’s Euro 2024 qualifications where the hosts finished 3rd in the Group needing to play two knock-out games to get their tickets for Germany. Still putting on a stellar performance against Estonia (5-1) and defeating Wales in the final was enough for Lewandwski&Co to reach their 5th European tournament.

While former Portugal national team coach Fernando Santos was sacked after failing to make an impact, appointing Michal Probierz as his successor proved to be an excellent decision. The latter had an instant impact by guiding Poland to Germany in great style after an impressive undefeated run. 

Following the test against Ukraine, Michal Probierz will have one more friendly game against Turkey to make the last adjustments before travelling to Germany.

Team News

Robert Lewandowski is expected to spearhead the attacking line against Ukraine. Although the Polish ace had a disappointing season with Barcelona without winning any silverware, Poland’s MVP will look to torment Ukraine’s defenders and score at least one goal.

Ukraine

Despite needing to play most of the Euro 2024 qualifying home games on neutral grounds, Ukrainian players’ attitude was impressive, leading them eventually to Germany. Furthermore, seen as an underdog in a difficult qualification Group with heavyweights England and Italy, the visitors finished 3rd following a last controversial battle with Italy.

Although Ukraine had more chances to score, the match ended in a goalless stalemate, sending Sqadra Azzura straight to Germany thanks to having the h2h advantage. However, appointing former legendary player Sergiy Rebrov as coach proved a great choice.

While Ukraine finished 3rd in the qualification group, the former Dinamo Kyiv icon guided his national team to Germany after knocking out Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland in the last qualification battles. Under his spell, Ukraine proved to be a tough nut to crack holding to a draw giants England, Italy and Germany.

Although history reveals heated encounters between Poland and Ukraine without a clear winner, the visitors’ latest results have them as favourites against Poland. Furthermore, Ukraine’s recently displayed resilience in the semi-final knock-out game against Bosnia & Herzegovina, when the team led by Zinchenko scored a late double (minutes 85 and 88), will be difficult to break by Poland.

Team News

Sergiy Rebrov is expected to use the same counter-attacking system (5-3-1-1) displayed against Germany. However, since Poland will not be able to assert dominance the entire time as Germany did, Ukraine will have more chances to score. Despite Mudryik creating danger in Germany’s box without scoring, the Ukraine left winger is expected to have his name on the scoresheet this time.

Key factors to consider

• The hosts qualified for their 5th consecutive European championship tournament
• Poland and Ukraine h2h is still undecided as both teams won three times and the other two games ended undecided
• Ukraine is playing fast-paced counter-attacking football creating problems even for strong sides like England, Italy and Germany
• The visitors reached the Euro 2024 after knocking out Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland

Conclusion

While Poland has given recovery signs since appointing Michal Probierz at the helm, Ukraine proved capable of competing against Europe’s best. We expect the visitors to put in another great performance that will be enough to narrowly edge the hosts.   

Verdict: Ukraine win

Best odds: 33/20

Bookmaker: ZetBet