In matches against Romania on Saturday and Sweden three days later, Poland’s national soccer team theoretically has a chance to win promotion to the top division of the Nations League. At the same time, it must take care not to finish the group stage in last place.
In Group B4, the white-and-reds, who played in the top division in each of the previous four editions of the Nations League, sit in third place with four points. Sweden leads with 10, ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina with eight, while Romania is last with no points.
The squad of coach Jan Urban can no longer finish first, which earns direct promotion to League A, regardless of what happens in the coming days. It can still finish second and reach the playoffs, but to do so it must not only win both remaining games but also hope that Bosnia and Herzegovina, which holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, takes no more than one point from its two remaining matches.
“We have only ourselves to blame for being in this situation. On paper, anything is possible, but we no longer depend only on ourselves,” Urban said after announcing the roster.
Finishing third, which appears the most likely outcome for Poland, would mean the end of its run in this edition of the Nations League and a spot in League B. However, if the white-and-reds lose to Romania in Bucharest on Saturday, they could fall to last place. That would mean having to fight to stay in the division in a playoff.
Given that Poland routed Romania 6-0 in Warsaw, that scenario seems about as unlikely as promotion. It can therefore be expected that the coach will continue to test new tactical or personnel options.
During the previous camp, Wiktor Nowak, Kacper Potulski and Marcel Reguła got their chance, and they were called up for the November matches as well. They may now be joined by Oskar Kubiak, Bartosz Mazurek and Łukasz Poręba, who came to a senior national team camp for the first time.
“Debuts like these are a great thing. There are few friendlies. The Nations League should be used to change something and give new players a chance,” Urban said.
The matches against Romania in Bucharest and against Sweden in Wrocław are scheduled for 8:45 p.m. local time.
Nothing has been decided yet in League B. In the top division, however, world champions Spain and their Iberian Peninsula neighbors Portugal have already clinched spots in the quarterfinals. Portugal began its first camp of the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era. The famed “CR7” has announced his retirement from international soccer.
In Group A3, Spain leads with a perfect record and still faces last-place Czechia and runner-up England. A win in the first of those games or a draw with England is enough for Luis de la Fuente’s squad to secure first place.
England can still mathematically be overtaken by Croatia, which has three points, but in practice it, too, already has a quarterfinal spot. In the teams’ head-to-head match in Rijeka, the visitors won 7-0.
Defending champion Portugal is unlikely to lose the lead in Group A4. It has 12 points, six more than Denmark, which it still has to face at home. Wales and Norway have three points each.
In the other groups, the race for the top two places continues. In A1, France (10 points), Italy (7) and Belgium (6) are in contention, and in A2, the Netherlands and Greece (8 points each) and Germany (5). Neither Türkiye nor Serbia, both last in their groups with no points, is still in the running.
The quarterfinals and playoffs are scheduled for March 25-30 next year. The Final Four tournament will take place June 9-13. (PAP)
