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Croatia and Poland had contrasting fortunes in their opening Nations League match on Thursday.
Croatia lost against Portugal, while Poland secured a dramatic 3-2 last-minute victory away against Scotland.
Match Preview
Croatia recent form
Croatia were disappointing at the European Championships and only claimed two points in a group alongside Spain, Albania and Italy.
It was a last-minute goal from the Azzurri in the final group game that knocked them out of the competition.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Dalot saw them lose 2-1 in the Nations League on Thursday.
Croatia injury news
Marcelo Brozovic retired from international football on 99 caps so he isn’t involved, while fellow veteran Domagoj Vida is also absent.
Lovro Majer, Josip Stanisic and Martin Erlic are out with injury.
Poland recent form
Poland’s 3-2 victory away at Scotland was a welcome one, as they got back to winning ways after failing to win a game at the Euros in the summer.
In a group alongside the Netherlands, Austria, and France they only earned one point and scored three goals.
Poland injury news
Wojciech Szczesny and Kamil Grosicki retired from international football after the Euros, while Arkadiusz Milik remains out with a serious knee injury.
Star man Robert Lewandowski is in the squad and started versus Scotland, though he was taken off before the winning goal was scored.
Croatia – Player to Watch?
While his midfield partner in crime Brozovic has opted to retire, Luka Modric continues to be Croatia’s main man.
Poland – Player to Watch?
Robert Lewandowski opened his 2024/25 Nations League account on Thursday with a penalty scored versus Scotland and you wouldn’t bet against him adding to his tally in the second fixture.
These look like two fairly evenly matched sides at the moment, while Poland will be on a high due to the manner of their win against Scotland. This looks like it could end in a score draw.
Scoreline prediction – Croatia 2-2 Poland
For all of the analysis of the match as it happens…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/news/croatia-vs-poland-uefa-nations-league-prediction/5689
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-09-06 10:53:00
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