Poland vs Sweden: Preview and Prediction
Poland is set to play Sweden in the FIFA World Cup 2022 European Qualifiers play-off final on Tuesday. The winners will book one of three remaining places at the Qatar 2022 FIFA Football World Cup, with the World Cup draw due to take place on Friday.
The Poles looked distinctively second-best in Glasgow on Thursday night in a friendly match against Scotland yet managed to rescue a draw thanks to a very dubious late penalty after receiving a bye after Russia was suspended from the competition following their invasion of Ukraine. But one also needs to understand that star striker Robert Lewandowski never played the game and Poland are completely a different team when the Bayern goal machine plays.
Sweden meanwhile won 1-0 against the Czech Republic in extra time last week to secure their place in the final with substitute Robin Quaison scoring the only goal in extra-time as they eliminated the Czechs, with the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic watching on.
This clash would thus confirm either Robert Lewandowski or Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss out on potentially their last shot at a World Cup.
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Current Form
The Poles were given a bye into the final because original play-off opponents Russia were suspended from international football competition. Czeslaw Michniewicz’s team finished their World Cup qualifying campaign with four wins in their last six matches. A 2-1 home defeat by Hungary in their last World Cup qualifier in the group stages ended a five-game unbeaten run in qualifying.
The home team though have a strong recent home record in World Cup qualifying, as they have won nine of their 12 qualifying games on home soil. However, their defeat against Hungary ended an 11-match home unbeaten run in qualifying.
The visitors needed extra time to record a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, which was always going to be a tight and low-scoring encounter. The draw ended a run of two straight defeats for Sweden in World Cup qualifying, as they lost their last two group games against Georgia and Spain.
Sweden has been poor on the road in World Cup qualifiers of late, having lost six of their last nine away games in qualifying. A 1-0 defeat in Spain in their last away game in qualifying was their third straight loss away from home in qualifying.
Head to Head Record
Sweden has the upper hand on Poland winning seven of the previous eight encounters between the two sides (D1) including a 3-2 win at the Euro 2020 group stages. However, that’s the only game we can use to preview this clash as the two teams last played in 2004 have different squads at their disposal.
Team News
This might be the last chance for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to win the World Cup
Robert Lewandowski was rested against Scotland and should be fresh for this clash. However, Poland will be without the services of Marseille striker Arkadiusz Milik and Charlotte FC’s Karol Swiderski who are both out due to injury.
Milik’s absence is not gaffer Jakub Kwiatkowski only problem ahead of Tuesday’s game at Stadion Slaski in Chorzow as defender Salamon is also ruled out from the crucial clash, while ACF Fiorentina striker Piatek’s start is also a concern due to injury.
On the other hand, Sweden will be just without experienced defender Martin Olsson who withdrew from the squad prior to the clash. Apart from him, all the players are expected to be present for this all-important clash including Zlatan Ibrahimovic who comes back after serving the suspension.
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Predicted Starting Lineups
Poland (3-5-2): Szczęsny; Bielik, Glik, Bednarek; Cash, Krychowiak, Moder, Zieliński, Puchacz; Piatek, Lewandowski
Sweden (4-4-2): Olsen; Krafth, Lindelöf, Danielson, Augustinsson; Claesson, K. Olsson, Ekdal, Forsberg; Kulusevski, Isak
Prediction
This game looks set to be a tight and tense affair, as in terms of qualifying there is not much between these two teams. However, Poland is strong on home soil and Sweden have struggled on the road of late. With that in mind, we are backing a narrow 1-0 win in favour of the Poles.