Poland – Czech Republic

The Czech team will be closer to victory over the Poles forced to take risks

The situation in Group E shortly before the finish of European qualification is extremely unstable and threatening for the opponents for the match in Warsaw. No team in this group has yet secured participation in UEFA EURO 2024. Leading the sensational Albania with thirteen points, ahead of the Czech Republic by two points, Poland - by three. To complete the intrigue, it is worth noting that Moldovans are just one win away from both the Czechs and the Poles, who are unexpectedly doing well in the current qualifying phase. While Friday's game will decide a lot for the Czech Republic, for Poland the victory is the last chance to go to Germany next year. It's all about the fact that for the Polish team this match will be the last one in qualifying, while the Czech Republic will still be able to defend their right to first or second place in the meeting with Moldova early next week. Bookmakers have not been able to determine the favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering roughly equal odds on the opponents. Before traveling to Qatar, where a play-off was reached at the World Cup, the Polish squad remained in League A of the Nations League, finishing third in their group behind the Netherlands and Belgium. In January, the team was led by the already legendary Fernando Santos, who had coached Portugal for eight years. Unfortunately, the Portuguese coach's tenure with the Polish national team did not work out and in September he was sacked by the federation. This was probably due to the worst performance of the Poles in the last couple of decades. In the current qualification Poland managed to win three out of seven matches, two of which were against the Faroe Islands. Before the European qualification, the guests of the upcoming match didn't shine much. The Czechs did not use their chance to qualify for the 2022 World Cup through the play-offs, having been eliminated in the semi-finals against Sweden. The team's string of failures continued in the Nations League, where it failed to compete with Spain, Portugal and Switzerland in Ligue A, finishing in last place in the quartet. The Czechs had not lost in the current qualifier until a month ago in Tirana. "Number two" in such a confrontation will be more comfortable to play. Taking into account the tournament realities, only the Czech Republic can afford it.