Poland vs Ukraine: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Poland host Ukraine in an international friendly, with both teams wrapping up preparations ahead of the European Championships in Germany.

Date: 07/06/24

Kick-off time: 19:45

Venue: National Stadium Warsaw

The hosts secured their place in the Euros after they beat Estonia and then Wales on penalties in the playoffs. As a result, they were rewarded with a very difficult group as they will compete alongside France, Netherlands and Austria in group D. They come into this friendly game with Ukraine in good form, as they are unbeaten in their last six games.

Ukraine will also be using this game as an important test ahead of the tournament. After finishing third in their group behind Italy on goal difference, they earned the opportunity to secure a place in the Euros via the playoffs. They played against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland recording two wins to make it into the competition. Mykhailo Mudryk of Chelsea and Oleksandr Zinchenko of Arsenal are key players for the side.

Goals could be a feature in this game, with Poland enjoying some success in front of goal in recent games. In their last five fixtures they have scored nine goals. They rely heavily on their talisman Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 82 goals in 148 caps for his national team. He has also scored 19 goals in La Liga this season. Poland have also been strong at the back, conceding just three in the same period. Ukraine similarly have been good in attack, scoring in all but one of their last 10 games.

These two teams have met just nine times before, and there has not been much to split them with Poland winning four and Ukraine winning three. The last meeting came in 2020, in which Poland won 2-0 in an international friendly. Krzysztof Piątek and Jakub Moder were the goalscorers.

Poland

Aston Villa’s Matty Cash will miss out after not being named in the provisional squad. Robert Lewandowski will be a prominent figure in the Poland team as expected. Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal is also included.

Ukraine

Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin may miss out due to his involvement in the Champions League final the week before. Premier League players Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk should expect to play a big part.

Poland

In their last five games, Poland have won two and drawn three. It has been an unbeaten stretch for Poland as they also booked their place in the upcoming European Championships. They did so at the expense of Wales in their most recent game. The game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, before Poland prevailed 5-4 on penalties. Poland edged possession but remarkably failed to register a single shot on target. However, they were able to keep their opponents out and hang on for the shootout.

Their meeting with Wales came as a result of an emphatic 5-1 win over Estonia. They took an early lead through Przemyslaw Frankowski, before their task was made a lot easier thanks to a red card for Estonia right-back Maksim Paskotsi. Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski doubled the lead, and three goals in six minutes took the game well out of reach. The visitors immediately scored a consolation. This made it two wins in a row after a 2-0 friendly victory over Latvia. Both goals came early in each half, firstly from Frankowski and then Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. It was a good response to a 1-1 draw against Czech Republic a few days prior. Jakub Piotrowski put them in front before half-time, but this was cancelled out by West Ham’s Tomas Soucek shortly after the restart.

The first game of this stretch was another 1-1 draw, this time at home to Moldova. The visitors broke the deadlock on 25 minutes through Ion Nicolaescu but the equaliser came in the second half from Karol Swiderski. Moldova’s goal came with their only shot on target, as they enjoyed just 27% possession.

Ukraine

In their last five games, Ukraine have won four and drawn one. It has been a great stretch for Ukraine as they earned their place in the upcoming Euros. The first game in this stretch was a 2-0 win against North Macedonia in the seventh game of qualifying. It was a fairly even game throughout, which saw Ukraine take a one-goal lead into half-time. Oleksandr Karavayev scored deep in second half stoppage time to seal the win.

This preceded a 3-1 victory at Malta. They actually went behind early on after a Paul Mbong goal, but hit back before the break through an own goal and Artem Dovbyk penalty. Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk added some insurance late on. The final group game followed and this was a 0-0 draw at home to Italy. This ensured the Italians finished above Ukraine on goal difference, but there was controversy towards the end as the hosts were denied a clear penalty at the death, which would have seen them automatically qualify for the tournament.

As a result, they had to go through the playoffs to secure a place in the Euros. The first game was against Bosnia & Herzegovina, and they advanced to the playoff final with a 2-1 win. It was a dramatic finish, as they came from behind to win in the final minute. Roman Yaremchuck and Dovbyk scored twice in three minutes to keep their Championship hopes alive. This set up a game with Iceland, which they again won 2-1. Once more they went behind, but equalised shortly after the restart through Viktor Tsyhankov. Mudryk scored the winner with six minutes to go. Before they take on Poland, Ukraine will travel to Germany for another friendly on Monday night.

Both teams will be hoping for a positive result to bring momentum into the Euros. However, we expect there to be nothing to split the two teams, though each side will get on the scoresheet – Poland 1-1 Ukraine

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Poland vs Ukraine will not be available to watch on TV in the UK.

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