Nations League: Poland v Portugal preview

Portugal will look to build on their positive start in the Nations League tomorrow. The Seleção are aiming for a third consecutive victory in Group A1 when they take on Poland in Warsaw.

However, it will be no easy task against a Polish team who are unbeaten in their last 10 matches played on home soil.

Tom Kundert previews tomorrow’s encounter. 

Building momentum, with Ronaldo at the forefront  

After a somewhat anticlimactic Euro 2024 where Portugal never truly got going, the Seleção returned to action in September with two victories against Croatia and Scotland in Lisbon.

While much of the narrative at the European Championship had been about the supposed over-utilisation of Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of the Nations League matches last month coach Roberto Martínez and the captain himself made it clear that Portugal’s greatest ever player will not be taking a back seat any time soon when it comes to the Seleção.

And truth be told, Ronaldo was Portugal’s best performer in both matches as his goals in each game secured 2-1 victories over the Croats and the Scots. Nevertheless, it was interesting that Martínez managed his playing time, in contrast to what happened in Germany in the summer when CR7 played practically every minute of every match.

Against Croatia Ronaldo was replaced late in the game by Diogo Jota, while versus Scotland he did not start, coming on after half time. “Cristiano Ronaldo cannot play two 90-minute games in 72 hours,” said Martínez at the time.

Young blood

Perhaps stung by the criticism he received for how he overused Ronaldo at the Euro and a perceived conservatism in his choices, the Spanish coach has made a point of drafting youngsters into the Portugal setup for the Nations League campaign.

Rising stars Geovany Quenda, Renato Veiga, Tiago Santos, Ricardo Velho and Samuel Costa have all received debut call-ups into the squad, while the Sporting duo of Pedro Gonçalves and Francisco Trincão have also featured after being shunned for the Euros.

None of Quenda, Santos or Veiga saw the pitch in the previous round of matches, the first two dropping out of the squad this time round as goalkeeper Velho and defensive midfielder Samu Costa got the nod, but Martínez insists the youngsters are ready if called upon.

“The new players are ready. The experienced players are very open to the newcomers, helping them become influential. I have a lot of belief in the young players and I’m confident that the whole squad can help win the game.”  

Poland’s formidable home form

Poland are unbeaten at home for two years, winning 8 and drawing 2 of 10 games, including victory against Germany earlier this year.  

“They have a very positive atmosphere around the team. Poland like to take risks. They attack and defend in numbers, which makes it a very interesting tactical challenge,” said Martínez.

As ever, Poland’s number one attacking weapon will be Robert Lewandowski who has been in superb form this season. The prolific striker has bagged 13 goals (and three assists) in 13 matches in 2024/25.

Shutting down the Barcelona man will be a tough task for a Portugal defence that is still looking to stabilise after the retirement of Pepe. Rúben Dias is an automatic starter, but his long-term partner is yet to be found. Gonçalo Inácio is injured and António Silva’s patchy form has seen him dropped by Benfica, where he has been replaced by Tomás Araújo. It would not be a huge surprise to see club teammate Araújo handed his debut.

Head-to-head 

Portugal and Poland have played each other 13 times in total, the Seleção winning 5 times, with 5 draws and Poland coming out on top on 3 occasions.

Portugal have not been beaten by Poland the last five times the teams have met. The most recent encounters were also in the Nations League, in 2018, when Portugal drew at home (1-1) and won away (3-2) on their way to winning the inaugural version of the tournament.

Predicted Portugal XI:

Diogo Costa, João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, António Silva, Nuno Mendes, João Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, Rafael Leão, Cristiano Ronaldo