Separated by only one place and three points in the League A Group 1 rankings in the UEFA Nations League, Poland And Croatia will compete against each other in Warsaw on Tuesday.

The hosts were conquered 3-1 by group leader Portugal on matchday three, while the 2018 World Cup finalists came from behind to sink Scotland 2-1 and remain in control of their knockout destiny.

Match example

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Trying to make the best of it Roberto MartinezThe Portuguese juggernaut proved to be too much of a task for Poland on Saturday evening Bernardo Silva And Christiano Ronaldo lifted the Selecao to a two-goal lead before the half-time whistle blew.

Piotr Zielinski cut the payment arrears in half late on, seemingly creating an exciting finale, only for Jan Bednarek to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper and restore Portugal’s two-goal lead in the dying embers of that loss, Poland’s fourth in the last six games.

Winning Trumps in a five-goal thriller against Scotland was initially the perfect tonic for their early exit from the European Championship group stages, but having been defeated by Croatia and Portugal in successive matches, the Eagles are now languishing in third place. in the section.

Such an arrangement would force Michal ProbierzScotland are looking to salvage their League A status through the relegation/promotion play-offs in the spring, but Scotland only have a three-point lead to make up for with Poland, who are at serious risk of a first-ever relegation from the first division. Nations League level.

The Eagles were also defeated in each of their last three home games in the competition, scoring just one goal despite playing three European heavyweights in Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands.

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While Poland had to rue what could have happened against Ronaldo and co, Croatia made sure of that Ryan Christie‘s opener for Scotland in Zagreb would prove to be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, as Zlatko Dalic‘s men fought back to leave Steve Clarke‘s men are still looking for their first point in the section.

Igor Matanović And Andrej Kramaric previously had the requisite response to Christie’s opener Che Adams thought for a moment that he had restored parity for the visitors, only because VAR had room to deny the Torino striker and allow Croatia to enjoy back-to-back victories in the Nations League.

Aiming to replicate or improve on last year’s run to the final – where Spain denied them a long-awaited international title – the Checkered Ones are currently on course for quarter-final qualification in second place, three points behind perfect Portugal .

After losing each of their first five Nations League matches played outside Croatia, the 2018 World Cup finalists have now prevailed in four of the last five played outside their home country, with the standout being their narrow loss to Portugal just over a month ago.

However, Croatia immediately responded to that setback with a win over Poland by a nil point. Luka Modric was responsible for the winner making it four wins from six for the Checkered Ones against the Eagles that day, whose only success in this battle came in a friendly in 2006.

Format of the Nations League of Poland:

Form Poland (all competitions):

Format of the Nations League of Croatia:

Form Croatia (all competitions):

Team news

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Poland lost the trio of Bartlomiej Dragowski, Mateusz Skrzypczak And Kacper Kozlowski prior to their thrashing by Portugal, where defender Sebastian Walukiewicz was taken off the field at half-time.

However, this change may have been tactical in nature for Probierz, as he had taken a yellow card straight from the whistle; anyway, Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior is a viable alternative.

Top appearance scorer and goalscorer Robert Lewandowski could not add anything to his 84 goals for the national team on Saturday, but the Barcelona star will certainly resume his role in the attack on Tuesday, possibly with a new partner in Krzysztof Piatek.

As for visitors Croatia, Manchester City is the key figure Mateo Kovacic was not seen against Scotland due to the birth of his child, although Dalic is hopeful that he will be able to participate in Tuesday’s match.

Mario Pasalic got the nod alongside the evergreen Modric this weekend, but the Atalanta BC midfielder was hooked at half-time, so Kovacic will likely be called up to replace his fellow ex-Chelsea player when he returns in time.

Whether Modric is able to start two games in quick succession is another question, however: the 39-year-old played the full 90 minutes on Saturday and may need rest.

Possible starting line-up for Poland:
Skorupski; Dawidowicz, Bednarek, Kiwior; Frankowski, Zielinski, Szymanski, Urbanski, Zalewski; Piatek, Lewandowski

Possible starting line-up for Croatia:
Livaković; Gvardiol, Caleta-Car, Sutalo; Perisic, Modric, Kovacic, Sosa; Sucic, Matanovic, Kramaric

We say: Poland 1-1 Croatia

Lewandowski can’t do it all alone for Poland, who have failed to clear any trees for several months, although Croatia were lucky to come away with all the spoils against Scotland.

While the visitors may be just off on paper, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a low-scoring stalemate in Warsaw as both sides remain firmly in contention for a coveted place in the top two.

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

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