Poland's defeat to Portugal on Saturday (3:1) once again highlighted issues with their tactical structure under Michał Probierz. Croatia already dealt with this opponent in September (1:0), and the upcoming encounter could edge them closer to the Nations League playoffs.
At the Warsaw stadium, Poland conceded twice to Cristiano Ronaldo and André Silva by the 37th minute. Over the 90 minutes against the Portuguese, the team faced 3.01 xGA from 18 shots—they struggled to compete against top-tier opposition. It's clear that Michał Probierz will not find a solution to these issues in just a few days: introducing Jakub Kiwior and Kacper Urbanski into the starting lineup won't bring the needed balance.
In this Nations League campaign, Croatia also suffered a defeat to Portugal (2:1), but they bounced back with victories over Poland and Scotland (2:1). At home against the Scots, they created a respectable 1.25 xG from 17 shots, while their opponents managed only 0.91 xG and nine attempts. On Tuesday, Croatia might start with Martin Erlić and Ante Budimir, though the squad already boasts considerable depth and flexibility.
A month ago in Osijek, Croatia secured three points thanks to Luka Modrić's strike after the break. In Warsaw, there won't be an abundance of dangerous chances, but the more skillful visitors are likely to capitalise on what they create.
|
Michal Probierz
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
Łukasz Skorupski
|
gk. | 13 | -13 |
Marcin Bulka
|
gk. | 2 | -2 |
Bartosz Mrozek
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
Kacper Trelowski
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
Jan Bednarek
|
df. | 63 | 1 |
Bartosz Bereszyński
|
df. | 56 | 0 |
Jakub Piotr Kiwior
|
df. | 28 | 1 |
Paweł Dawidowicz
|
df. | 16 | 0 |
Tymoteusz Puchacz
|
df. | 14 | 0 |
Kamil Dawid Piątkowski
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
Piotr Zieliński
|
mf. | 96 | 13 |
Przemyslaw Frankowski
|
mf. | 47 | 3 |
Sebastian Szymański
|
mf. | 39 | 4 |
Jakub Moder
|
mf. | 29 | 2 |
Nicola Zalewski
|
mf. | 24 | 2 |
Bartosh Kapustka
|
mf. | 14 | 3 |
|
Kacper Urbański
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
|
Maximillian Rotimi Oyedele
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Michael Ameyaw
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
Robert Lewandowski
|
fw. | 155 | 84 |
Karol Swiderski
|
fw. | 36 | 11 |
Krzysztof Piątek
|
fw. | 32 | 12 |
Jakub Kaminski
|
fw. | 15 | 1 |
|
Zlatko Dalić
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
|
Dominik Livaković
|
gk. | 60 | -62 |
Ivica Ivusic
|
gk. | 6 | -4 |
Nediljko Labrović
|
gk. | 1 | -1 |
Joško Gvardiol
|
df. | 36 | 2 |
Duje Ćaleta-Car
|
df. | 27 | 1 |
Borna Sosa
|
df. | 24 | 1 |
Josip Šutalo
|
df. | 20 | 0 |
|
Martin Erlic
|
df. | 9 | 0 |
Luka Modrić
|
mf. | 181 | 27 |
Ivan Perišić
|
mf. | 137 | 33 |
|
Mateo Kovačić
|
mf. | 106 | 5 |
Mario Pašalić
|
mf. | 69 | 10 |
Luka Sučić
|
mf. | 13 | 0 |
|
Kristijan Jakic
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
Martin Baturina
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Petar Sučić
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Nikola Moro
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
Andrej Kramarić
|
fw. | 99 | 30 |
|
Bruno Petković
|
fw. | 42 | 11 |
|
Marko Pjaca
|
fw. | 27 | 1 |
Mislav Oršić
|
fw. | 27 | 2 |
Ante Budimir
|
fw. | 26 | 3 |
Luka Ivanušec
|
fw. | 22 | 2 |
Marco Pašalić
|
fw. | 5 | 1 |
Igor Matanović
|
fw. | 3 | 1 |
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