UEFA Nations League: Wales Head to Poland for Play-off Final Warm-up

Poland vs Wales

Wales are one win away from reaching the World Cup finals as they await the winner of the Scotland-Ukraine play-off semi-final. But before that big match, Wales will begin their new UEFA Nations League campaign away to Poland, which will serve as their warm-up for the final.

The Poles have already booked their place in Qatar with their play-off win over Sweden. And the UEFA Nations League 2022 betting odds will have Robert Lewandowski and co. installed as favourites to get their Nations League campaign off on the right foot at home.

Talking Points

Possible changes by new Poland coach

Poland are set to return to action for the first time since clinching their spot in the World Cup finals with a 2-0 win over Sweden in late March.

Goals from stars Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski delivered the win for the Poles, who are headed to their second straight World Cup.

Poland finished a distant second to England in their World Cup qualifying group but still made it to the qualification play-off. Coach Paulo Sousa left shortly thereafter, with Czesław Michniewicz taking over.

After being awarded a walkover against Russia in their play-off semi-final, the Poles took care of business at home against the Swedes in the final.

Michniewicz will now look to use to Nations League to impose his system on the side. He played a conservative 4-1-4-1 formation against Sweden, and it remains to be seen whether he will make changes to his side.

But Michniewicz will no doubt continue to build his squad around superstar striker Lewandowski, the country’s all-time leading scorer with 75 goals in 129 caps. The 33-year-old is coming off another fantastic season for Bayern Munich with 35 goals in 34 Bundesliga games and 50 goals in all competitions.

Napoli’s Zielinski will be the team’s primary playmaker, while strikers Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piatek are potential weapons off the bench.

Wales warm up for play-off final

Wales are closing in on their first World Cup berth since 1958. The Dragons defeated Austria 2-1 at home in their play-off semi-final back in March and have been awaiting the winner of the rescheduled Scotland-Ukraine semi-final.

Unlike in 2018, Gareth Bale did not take part in Real Madrid’s recent Champions League triumph against Liverpool and had reportedly been dealing with a back injury. But as the 32-year-old showed with his amazing two-goal performance against Austria, he is still quite capable of delivering for his country when needed.

Bale and Aaron Ramsey – last seen missing the crucial penalty in Rangers’ Europa League final shootout defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt – have once again been called up and will likely lead caretaker boss Robert Page’s side in Poland.

Page will also have the Kieffer Moore back available after the Bournemouth centre-forward missed the Austria match due to a broken foot. Moore made just four appearances for the newly promoted Cherries due to the injury, but he still scored four goals in those games and could be primed to make some UEFA Nations League 2022 highlights.

Daniel James, who helped Leeds escape relegation from the Premier League, is also likely to feature against Poland in preparation for the final.

After their 1-1 draw in a friendly against the Czech Republic following their win over Austria, Wales are now unbeaten in their last nine matches (four wins, five draws).

History

Wales and Poland have faced off eight times in total. The Poles have dominated the Dragons, winning five of the eight matches, including each of the last four.

The two last met in a friendly in 2009, which the Poles won 1-0. Lewandowski and Bale were both in the starting line-ups of their respective sides during that match.

In terms of recent Nations League form, Wales went undefeated with five wins and one draw as they won Nations League Group B4 and gained promotion to League A. As for Poland, they finished third behind European champions Italy and the Netherlands in Group A1.

Betting Tip 

SBOTOP odds have Poland installed as big 1.83 favourites in their Nations League opener at home. Wales are priced at 4.10, while a draw is 3.45.

There’s a lot to like about Poland in this match. They will likely have the best player on the pitch in Robert Lewandowski, and they will be at home. They will also be facing a potentially weakened Wales side that will have one eye toward their World Cup play-off final later in the week.

With the Dragons unlikely to go full bore in what is essentially their warm-up match for the final, look for Lewandowski and Poland to open their UEFA Nations League campaign with a home win.

 

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