Only three scenarios for Poland. UEFA’s movement gives us hope

• We already won against the Scots in Glasgow, where we showed bravery. Just before the end of the group competition, our team has an additional bonus resulting from the September 3-2 victory
• We already know that a victory against Scotland gives us the desired third place and probably also greater confidence in Touchstone
• However, in the context of the play-offs, nothing bad will happen if the White and Reds share the points today. The variants are extremely simple
• More information can be found in Przegląd Sportowy Onet

The scandal in Porto made the atmosphere around the team thicker, but it did not ruin the chances of implementing the minimum plan in this edition of the Nations League. After we faced Portugal and Croatia, it seemed that the chance of even advancing to the play-offs was real.

While a defeat against Portugal could be assumed as probable, against Croatia many hoped that they would be able to get at least two or three points. Only a draw was achieved at PGE Narodowy after a crazy match that ended with the score 3:3. Once again, one of the elements that failed in LN was the attitude of our defense.

Earlier, the Croatians beat us at home 1-0 and thanks to their balance in direct matches, they are confident of second place. Even the 0-1 defeat in the last match against Scotland did not stop them. Currently, however, they have three points more than the White and Reds.

The Polish national team has a good chance of making the play-offs. Bright variants

There is therefore one important decision left in group 1 of division A: who will take third place, which will allow them to play in the play-offs to stay in the elite. This is something new in this competition, but also an opportunity for our team. The rules of the Nations League have changed this year. Previously, the best team entered the semi-finals, the last one was relegated to division B, and the second and third teams retained their status and ended the season in the competition.

From this season, the two best teams enter the quarterfinals, while the third team plays in a relegation play-off (against one of the second-placed teams in division B), and the fourth team drops directly to a lower division. The options in the context of maintaining the Polish national team are extremely simple.

Maintenance will give us:

• every draw against Scotland
• every victory against the Scots

We will not survive in the event of:

• losing to Scotland no matter the size.

Everything looks clear in the table. The same number of points means that the next element that determines the order of places is the direct balance with the rival. We defeated Scotland in the Isles 3-2, so in addition to a possible triumph, any draw will give us third place.

Current table of group 1. division A before the last round:

Belgians and Hungarians already have a certain place in the play-offs. Currently, Poles and Serbs are still in third place. If they maintain their positions, they will have to watch what happens one rung below. The results in the B division of the Nations League are crucial for those teams in the A division that can play in the relegation play-offs. Taking second place in a group in a lower division means competing for promotion. The opponent will be one of the teams that will take third place in the group in division A. The play-off competition will take place on March 20 and 25, 2025.

Poland’s potential rivals in the play-offs:

• Czech Republic/Georgia/Albania/Ukraine
• Greece
• Austria
• Wales/Iceland/Türkiye

The situation in the groups of division B, in which we are waiting for important decisions:

Taking into account the fact that the Touchstone team showed great courage at Hampden Park, the fans’ faith in a good result at the PGE Narodowy is high. At the beginning of September in Glasgow, the Poles were already leading 2-0 after goals by Robert Lewandowski and Sebastian Szymański, but thanks to goals by Gilmour and McTominay it became tense. Nicola Zalewski scored a goal from a penalty kick worth three points. Today he will try to become the hosts’ hero again. Especially since this time neither Lewandowski nor the other scorer from the Scotland match will play with the eagle on their chest. Szymański suffered a minor injury during the warm-up before the match against Portugal, which is why his performance is questionable.

Let us remind you that the fourth edition of the Nations League is currently being played. So far, the White and Reds have finished the competition in the group in third place each time. In the first edition, it was also the last position (behind Italy and Portugal), but we were saved by UEFA’s decision to enlarge the A division from 12 to 16 teams (no relegation). In the following years, we overtook Bosnia and Herzegovina (better Italy and the Netherlands), and then Wales (we were overtaken by Belgium and the Netherlands).