Poland will host the Czech Republic in a crucial game of Euro 2024 qualifying. In their last group game, the hosts must win to have any chance of moving forward. A win and Moldova dropping points against Albania would guarantee qualifying for the Czechs.
Preview (Poland vs. Czech Republic)
There is a possibility that all four teams might advance into the last matchday on Monday in the most intriguing group in Euro 2024 qualification. Poland’s defeat would come from their worse head-to-head record versus the Czechs. The Czechs might potentially lose this match if they draw because they would then need to beat Moldova. Group E seems to have an infinite number of combinations, particularly when it comes to Moldova and Czechia.
It has been a humiliating campaign for both of these teams, especially Poland. They will not be able to control their destiny no matter what happens. Before October’s internationals, Poland had just six points after losses on the road in Czechia, Moldova, and Albania. This means that an extraordinary sequence of events would have to occur in order for Poland to automatically qualify at this point. For Jaroslav Silhavy’s team, who were only quarterfinalists in the previous European Championship two years ago. They have only won three of their previous 11 competitive games, two of which were against the Faroes. As a result, confidence is low for a team that needs to obtain a result.
Since spectators returned to stadiums in 2021, the Czechs have only triumphed in one away match—against the Faroes in June—due to a dismal performance in the most recent Nations League campaign. Due in major part to Poland’s collapse, Silhavy’s team is still overwhelming favorites to advance automatically despite a relatively lackluster campaign. The Czech supporters had little to cheer about from last month’s internationals. They have had to rely on a late Tomas Soucek penalty to defeat the Faroes. It came three days after suffering a crushing 3-0 loss in Tirana.
Team News
Despite making a comeback from injury this past weekend, Aston Villa’s Matt Cash has withdrawn from the team after being left out of Probierz’s squad for the Moldova match last month. Sebastian Walukiewicz, a fellow defender, is also sidelined due to injury, while Bartosz Bereszynski, his Empoli colleague, has been benched. Unexpectedly, the right-back, Arkadiusz Milik, and Jakub Kaminski have also been left out of the squad, However, Robert Lewandowski has returned to the team following his injury-plagued absence. In addition, Patryk Dziczek and Adrian Benedyczak had to withdraw from the game. Kamil Piatkowski is still out for the duration.
Due to injuries, Czechia’s goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka and Sparta Prague captain Ladislav Krejci will miss their country’s final two qualifying matches. Ales Mandous is expected to replace Pavlenka in goal, while highly anticipated 20-year-old Martin Vitik. He plays defense with Krejci at the club level and may make his debut. In addition to Adam Hlozek and Tomas Cvancara, Silhavy has a few exciting young attacking alternatives in addition to the more seasoned Jan Kuchta and Vaclav Cerny. Mojmir Chytil is returning from suspension after receiving a red card against Albania. Patrik Schick, Hlozek’s colleague at Bayer Leverkusen, is still out due to a recurring injury. It prevented him from playing in any of the qualifying matches.
Poland 1 – 2 Czech Republic
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