Poland and Ukraine Have an International Friendly Stopover Before the Euros

Poland vs Ukraine

Poland and Ukraine are scheduled to meet on Friday at the Warsaw National Stadium for a rare International Friendly between these two sides.

Both teams have a few more exhibition games to use as preparation for Euro 2024, as after this game, Poland will host Turkey on Monday and Ukraine will visit Moldova on Tuesday.

Ukraine are one step ahead of Poland, as they’re coming off an impressive outing against Germany, holding them to a goalless draw.

Ukraine will need all the momentum they can get since they’re looking to spring a surprise in Euro 2024. Poland are also looking to do the same, given their tough Group D assignment.

Which team do you think will come out on top on Friday? Learn more about these two teams in today’s SBOTOP match preview.

Talking Points

Veterans will lead for Poland

Head coach Michal Probierz was promoted from the U-21s to replace Fernando Santos on September 2023, and he will be tasked with trying to guide a veteran team to European glory in Germany.

Under his guidance, the White-Reds have yet to lose a single game in all competitions (W4, D2), which is why they qualified for Euro 2024, although it’s worth noting that they haven’t faced stiff competition thus far.

Ukraine should give them a good litmus test since they are also qualified for the quadrennial meet, but Poland should have enough experience to help them brush aside their Eastern European counterparts.

Robert Lewandowski, Arek Milik, and Krzysztof Piatek will lead the frontline for the White-Reds. When healthy, Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world, as the 35-year-old was the leading scorer for Barcelona this season with 22 goals and nine assists in all competitions.

Between the sticks, there’s the savvy Wojciech Szczesny, although he’ll face internal competition with Lukasz Skorupski and Marcin Bulka available. The 34-year-old goalie was a key player for Juventus this season, as he was third in the Serie A Golden Glove race with 15 clean sheets.

But make no mistake about it, Poland have their share of exciting youngsters who could make noise in Germany, such as AS Roma’s Nicola Zalewski, Fenerbahce’s Sebastian Szymanski, and Brighton’s Jakub Moder.

Girona’s heroes to spearhead Ukraine’s charge

Girona caught the whole La Liga by surprise with their third-place finish this season, largely because of the dynamic Ukrainian duo of Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsyhankov.

Dovbyk won the La Liga Golden Boot award this season, as he recorded 24 goals and eight assists, while Tsyhankov had eight goals and seven assists.

Against Germany last night, Tsyhankov started while Dovbyk came off the bench, so head coach Sergiy Rebrov might reverse their roles on Friday.

Other than these two, Ukraine will need good performances from Andriy Yarmolenko, Mykhailo Mudryk, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Roman Yaremchuk if they are to cause an uproar in the Euros.

Meanwhile, Rebrov is hoping to have Andriy Lunin back at 100-per cent fitness soon since he was ill this week.

History

Poland and Ukraine will meet in an international friendly for the first time since November 2020, when the former secured a 2-0 victory as Krzysztof Piatek and Jakub Moder scored one goal apiece for the White-Reds.

Ukraine’s last win over Poland across all competitions was a 1-0 result in a World Cup 2014 qualifying match in October 2013, as Andriy Yarmolenko scored the marginal goal during the 64^th minute.

After missing out in the first 12 editions of the Euros, Poland have now qualified five straight times. Their best run in the quadrennial tournament was when they went as far as the quarter-finals in 2016, losing to eventual winners Portugal on penalties.

As for Ukraine, they have qualified for the Euros for the fourth consecutive time, and their best finish was in 2020, where they made it to the quarter-finals, losing to England in a 4-0 rout.

Betting Tip

The International Friendly 2024 odds predict a tight contest at the Warsaw National Stadium this weekend, as Poland are at 2.43 odds, whereas Ukraine are right behind them at 2.50, and a draw is at 2.94 in the 1X2 market.

Overall, we see Poland eking out a close win here, given the fact they’ve fared well against Ukraine in their past meetings. However, we won’t be surprised if it is the other way around.

Both teams have weapons that can generate International Friendly 2024 highlights. So, other than our recommended bet above, going for Over 2.25 at 1.81 is not a bad alternative.

 

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