Ahead of Euro 2024, Poland faces Ukraine in Warsaw on Friday. Both nations qualified via playoffs and seek momentum to reach the knockout stages.
Poland and Ukraine, with very few backing them to go deep in the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament, will battle it out in an international friendly on Friday. The venue for this interesting game would be PGE Narodowy in Warsaw. Poland were last seen in March, when they edged out Wales in the Euro qualifier playoff via penalties. That was needed because Poland finished third in Group E of the qualifiers, behind Albania and the Czech Republic. It was only thanks to their Nations League performances that the Poles earned a ticket to the playoffs. A 5-1 thrashing of Estonia was followed by that eventful draw against Wales. With one more friendly against Turkey scheduled before the main tournament, Poland will hope to extend their impressive form in friendlies—five wins and three draws since October 2020.
Ukraine are coming off a 0-0 draw against Germany, where they staved off their relentless attacks. Nevertheless, that kept Ukraine unbeaten in six straight matches, winning four and drawing two. Ukraine also took the route of the playoffs to earn their ticket to Germany. They finished third in Group C behind England and Italy, with only head-to-head points keeping them away from a direct ticket to the Euros. Instead, they had to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-1) and Iceland (2-1) to confirm their participation. Their recent form over the last 12 months gives hope that the Ukrainians may perhaps put an end to a two-game losing streak against Poland. They have another friendly against Moldova, and hence this match will be crucial towards building some confidence.
Ukraine gave a good account of themselves holding Germany to a draw on Tuesday, where they faced 26 shot attempts. Poland have been chalking up some impressive form as the two teams get ready to be underdogs in their group stages in the Euros. Poland has enough quality to keep pushing, although Ukraine is set to make it hard for them.
Prediction: 1-1
Netherlands vs Canada stream and TV listing
Japan: DAZN Japan
Romania: Digi Online
International:Score808 808ball