Comments, predictions Poland vs Portugal: Difficult victory

After two consecutive wins in the UEFA Nations League last month, Portugal are top of Group A Group 1, and they will look to continue that form when they visit Poland on Saturday.

The Selecao relied on their star man in both games in September, with Cristiano Ronaldo reaching a new career milestone, to help them take a three-point lead over hosts Poland ahead of Warsaw.

Latest Poland vs Portugal team information

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has called up a number of new faces for this month's training camp, including Farense goalkeeper Ricardo Velho and Mallorca midfielder Samu Costa in his 26-man squad.

After scoring a stunning solo goal against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, Juventus winger Francisco Conceicao was recalled after missing the September fixtures through injury; however, Sporting Lisbon pair Geovany Quenda and Pedro Goncalves were both ruled out through injury.

Martinez, rarely predictable in tactics or personnel, is likely to use a 4-3-3 formation on Saturday, with Ronaldo supported by Rafael Leao and one of several other attacking options.

Meanwhile, Poland's new arrivals include Legia Warsaw midfielder Maxi Oyedele and Rakow Czestochowa winger Michael Ameyaw, but the hosts' mainstays will still be familiar faces.

Jan Bednarek will command a three-man defence, Inter Milan star Piotr Zielinski will take up the central midfield role, while all-time leading scorer Robert Lewandowski continues to lead the attack.

Once again, Lewandowski will be without strike partner Arkadiusz Milik through injury, so Karol Swiderski or Krzysztof Piatek could support him up front.

Latest predicted lineup Poland vs Portugal

Poland:

Skorupski; Dawidowicz, Bednarek, Walukiewicz; Frankowski, Szymanski, Zielinski, Urbanski, Zalewski; Swiderski, Lewandowski

Portugal:

Costa; Dalot, Dias, A. Silva, Mendes; B. Silva, Vitinha, Fernandes; Neto, Ronaldo, Leao

Latest football commentary Poland vs Portugal

After taking maximum points from their first two Group 1 games, Portugal relied on their longest-serving player against Croatia and Scotland, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the second goal in a 2-1 win over Croatia, before producing a blistering performance off the bench against Scotland.

Quickly overcoming the disappointment of being eliminated from Euro 2024 on penalties, Ronaldo's 900th career goal put Portugal in control of the game against Croatia; three days later, he came on and hit the bar twice before scoring a late winner to see off Scotland.

Despite questions about the reliance on the 39-year-old, head coach Roberto Martinez has staunchly defended his much-criticised selection policy, and he is leading the team towards the 2026 World Cup.

Martinez will first aim to go far in a tournament the Selecao won impressively in 2019, while they recently missed out on qualification for the 2023 Nations League finals after finishing second behind Spain in their group.

A top-two finish is now enough to secure a place in the quarter-finals, so Portugal can progress to the knockout stages of this season's tournament if they beat both Poland and Scotland away from home.

Since 2006, Portugal are unbeaten in six meetings with the hosts this Saturday - notably taking four points from Poland in the inaugural Nations League campaign - so history is on their side this weekend.

Portugal are not the only team in Group 1 reliant on an ageing striker, with Poland captain Robert Lewandowski scoring his 84th international goal last month in a five-goal rout of Scotland.

Despite letting a two-goal advantage slip away at Hampden Park, the Eagles still claimed maximum points thanks to Nicola Zalewski's last-minute penalty, which gave them a dramatic 3-2 win.

However, they then lost 1-0 to Croatia in Osijek, leaving both teams locked in place in the standings, three points ahead of Scotland.

Before their disappointing group-stage exit from Euro 2024, Poland had narrowly escaped relegation in the Nations League, and head coach Michal Probierz is now tasked with keeping his country at Europe's top level while refreshing an ageing squad.

Of course, the priority is building towards the World Cup, but continuing to pick up points is also important - an unprecedented place in the Nations League knockout stages is still up for grabs.

On the other hand, finishing third in Group 1 would mean a relegation play-off; finishing fourth would result in automatic relegation to League B. While Portugal may not be solid at the back, they pose a threat from multiple directions in attack and are fully capable of scoring more goals than the hosts.

Despite introducing some new talent recently, Poland are also vulnerable in defence and will be unable to stop Ronaldo and co this weekend.

Poland vs Portugal score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Poland vs Portugal match:

• Sportsmole: Poland 1-2 Portugal

• WhoScore: Poland 0-2 Portugal
• Our prediction: Poland 1-2 Portugal

When and where to watch Poland vs Portugal live?

To watch the live match Poland vs Portugal in the Nations League taking place at 1:45 a.m. on October 13, viewers can watch on TV360 here, Mytv system here or on online sports channels. Wishing viewers happy moments of watching football.

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