Andorra vs Poland

Estadi Nacional is the venue as Andorra and Poland go head-to-head in a must-win World Cup qualifying match for the visitors.

Though they won’t qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar, Andorra at least won’t finish bottom of their World Cup qualifying group for the first time in the nation’s history, courtesy of a brace of comprehensive wins over dead-last San Marino. Outside those victories, the Iberian minnows have lost their remaining six Group I matches by an aggregate score of 19-2, including a 3-0 loss in the reverse fixture in Warsaw back in March. It’s hard to expect the ‘Tricolours’ to stage an upset here, but they could go down with dignity, considering that seven of their last ten World Cup qualifying defeats on home soil have yielded a margin of under 2.5 goals. Expecting them to get on the scoresheet here is unrealistic, as they’ve failed to score in six of their ten home matches since the start of 2020.

On the other hand, Poland’s hard-earned 1-0 away win over Albania last time out brought them on the cusp of ensuring a second-place finish in Group I. Unbeaten in five World Cup qualifying matches (W4, D1), the ‘Eagles’ hold a two-point lead over third-placed Albania, meaning they can ill-afford a slip-up here. Worryingly, though, a lack of composure at the back had seen Paulo Sousa’s men concede at least once in seven international travels on the trot before beating Albania in their most recent road trip. Poland’s defensive woes could go out of the window here, as they’ve never lost a World Cup qualifying encounter against a nation ranked outside FIFA’s top 100. That bodes well with their efforts to register three straight away wins in a World Cup qualifying campaign for the first time since 2005.