Poland and Wales will open their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign with a clash in Wroclaw on Wednesday evening.

The home side secured their spot in the finals of the 2022 World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Sweden in March, while Wales will take on either Scotland or Ukraine in their playoff final on Sunday.

Match preview

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Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski helped Poland record a 2-0 win over Sweden in their World Cup playoff at the end of March, with the team advancing to the finals of this year's competition.

The Eagles failed to advance through the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, while they also went out in the first round at Euro 2020.

Czesław Michniewicz's side will face Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup, but their immediate focus will be on the UEFA Nations League, beginning their campaign against Wales before also taking on Belgium twice and the Netherlands over the next couple of weeks.

Poland finished third in League A Group 1 of the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, with Italy and the Netherlands claiming first and second respectively.

The White and Reds have only lost one of their last nine matches in all competitions and will hope that Wales have their full focus on Sunday's World Cup playoff final.

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Wales will, of course, want to be competitive in the UEFA Nations League, with the team taking on Poland, the Netherlands twice and Belgium over the next couple of weeks.

However, Rob Page's side will be thinking about Sunday's World Cup final against either Scotland or Ukraine, with the winner set to advance to the finals of this year's competition.

Wales finished top of League B Group 4 in their last UEFA Nations League campaign, picking up 16 points from their six matches against Finland, Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria, which saw them earn promotion to Group A.

The Dragons ended their World Cup qualification group-stage campaign with a 2-1 victory over Austria on March 24, which saw them claim second in Group E behind Belgium.

Page's team will enter this contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic in a friendly at the end of March, with Rubin Colwill on the scoresheet for the home side in Cardiff.

Team News

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Poland boss Michniewicz is expected to select a strong side for Wednesday's affair, with Lewandowski set to lead the line amid the uncertainty surrounding his future at Bayern Munich.

The 33-year-old, who has scored 75 goals in 129 appearances for his country, has told Bayern that he wants to leave this summer, with Barcelona leading the race for his signature.

There should be plenty of experience in the side in the shape of Kamil Glik, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Zielinski, while Aston Villa's Matty Cash could earn his fifth cap at right-back.

As for Wales, Gareth Bale did not play a minute of Saturday's Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, so the 32-year-old should start here to build his fitness for the World Cup playoff final.

Head coach Page is expected to resist the temptation to rest his key players with an eye on the clash with Scotland or Ukraine, so Daniel James, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen should also start.

Cardiff City's Oliver Denham and Ipswich Town's Wes Burns will be looking to win their first caps for the Dragons, while a back three should include Ben Davies, Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu.

Poland possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cash, Glik, Bednarek, Bereszynski; Bielik; Zielinski, Goralski, Krychowiak, Szymanski; Lewandowski

Wales possible starting lineup:
Hennessy; Ampadu, Rodon, Davies; Roberts, Allen, Ramsey, N Williams; H Wilson; James, Bale

We say: Poland 1-1 Wales

Both teams will be determined to start their UEFA Nations League campaign with a victory, but we are predicting a tight affair on Wednesday evening. A draw would not be the worst result for either side, and we can see the pair sharing the spoils in this contest.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Matt Law

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