The second round of fixtures in Group D pits together the two losing sides from matchday one, as Poland and Austria do battle at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
By Nathan Evans
As such, the onus will be on both nations to respond here and go in search of a much-needed victory to boost their qualifying chances. That should mean that the neutrals can expect another entertaining Euro 2024 match, not least because star striker Robert Lewandowski is likely to return here after missing his side’s opening game.
He proved to be a huge omission for Poland as they were downed 2-1 by the Netherlands despite producing a spirited performance, albeit one which lacked in real quality in attack. Lewandowski’s stand-in, Adam Buksa, did get his name on the scoresheet, but after a season where he scored 26 goals in 49 games for Barcelona this season, the return of the record national goalscorer could be the difference maker for them.
Alongside the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich forward, expect Piotr Zielinski to feature heavily again as he played well against the Netherlands. No Polish player garnered a higher FotMob rating (7.4) than the Napoli midfielder in their opening fixture, a display which saw him record 50 touches – the second-most amongst his teammates – as well as pick up the assist on Buksa’s goal.
Poland will be expecting an almighty battle in the German capital in what will be there second European Championship meeting with Austria, after the pair drew 1-1 during the 2008 group stages.
In truth during their opening fixture against World Cup finalists France, Ralf Rangnick’s side deserved at least a draw after an unfortunate own goal from Max Wöber proved the difference in the end. Throughout a tense affair in Düsseldorf, Austria performed strongly across the park and looked well deserving of their tag as ‘dark horses’ as coined by many football fans pre-tournament – including us.
They headed into this summer’s competition having put together a run of seven internationals without defeat and their structure on Sunday evening was evident from the off set. Not only did their 4-2-3-1 set up provide plenty of counterattacking opportunity but it additionally produced defensive solidity which helped them to control much of the game.
In the face of superior quality from their French counterparts, Austria still managed to record more possession than their opponents and although they struggled to create too much in the way of goalscoring opportunities, that could very much change here as they look to claim just a third ever win at the European Championships.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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