Wales vs Poland Euro 2024 Playoff Final Preview, Picks, and Predictions: Team News, Form Guide, H2H

Wales vs Poland Euro 2024 Playoff Final Preview, Picks, and Predictions: Team News, Form Guide, H2H

Joel Reyes
March 22, 2024 at 4:22 AM
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  • Wales and Poland square off in the Euro 2024 play-off final this coming Tuesday
  • Wales booked a place in the final after beating Finland by three goals on Thursday
  • Poland secured a spot in the final after crushing 10-man Estonia in Warsaw

The stage is set for a blockbuster showdown at Cardiff City Stadium this Tuesday.

Wales will lock horns with Poland next week in the Euro 2024 play-off final, with the winner getting a spot in this year's European Championship.

Read on as Sports Brief brings you a preview of this all-important matchup.

Wales, Poland, Euro 2024, Euro 2024 Playoff final, Robert Lewandowski, Ben Davies, Matty Cash
Wales' Ben Davies and Poland's Robert Lewandowski during their Euro 2024 Playoff semi-final matches. Images: Ian Cook/ Robbie Jay Barratt.
Source: Getty Images

Wales vs. Poland Preview

Form Guide

Wales are unbeaten in their last five matches, recording four wins and a draw during that period. They are coming off an impressive 4-1 win over Finland on Thursday night to book their place in the final.

David Brooks gave the hosts a dream start, opening the scoring in the third minute. He volleyed home the rebound after Harry Wilson's effort was saved to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.

Neco Williams doubled Wales' advantage in the 38th minute, curling in a wonderful free kick. Teemu Pukki gave Finland a lifeline with a goal just before the half-time break.

It was all Wales, though, in the second half as they cruised to victory in front of their home fans. Brennan Johnson made it 3-1 just minutes after the restart with a simple tap-in.

Substitute Daniel James completed the rout for the Dragons, scoring Wales' fourth and final goal in the 86th minute.

Poland, on the other hand, are also undefeated in their last five matches, recording three wins and two draws during that stretch. They are coming off a 5-1 victory over Estonia to advance to the play-off final.

Poland brushed aside the visitors thanks to goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski, Piotr Zielinski, Jakub Piotrowski, Sebastian Szymanski, and an own goal from Estonia's Karol Mets.

The Poles eased to victory after Estonia's Maksim Paskotski was sent off in the 27th minute.

Recent Head-to-Head Matchups

Poland have won each of their last six matches against Wales, including their last two meetings in 2022, per Soccerway.

Their last encounter happened on September 26, 2022, in the UEFA Nations League, with the Poles recording a 1-0 victory. Karol Widerski scored the game's lone goal in the 57th minute.

Team News

Manager Rob Page made two changes to his Welsh side in the match against Finland, with Luton captain Tom Lockyer replaced by Chris Mepham in defence and Brooks joining Wilson and Johnson in attack, per The Standard.

Lockyer's playing career is hanging in the balance after suffering a cardiac arrest on the football pitch last December.

Poland's Matty Cash is doubtful to play in the play-off final after picking up a hamstring injury in the win against Estonia.

He suffered the injury just 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute during half-time and had to be replaced.

Writer's Prediction

Wales edge past Poland to qualify for Euro 2024.

Iceland to face Ukraine in other final

Sports Brief recently reported on the Iceland vs. Ukraine Euro 2024 play-off final.

Iceland booked a spot in the final with a 4-1 win over Israel.

They will next face Ukraine, who recorded a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Authors
Joel Reyes photo
Joel Reyes
Joel Reyes is a sports editor at Sportsbrief.com with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines. He has eight years of work experience in sports writing.