Croatia vs Poland

Opus Arena forms the backdrop for the first meeting between Croatia and Poland in 16 years as they continue their 2024/25 UEFA Nations League journey.

Croatia hoped to recover from their first group-stage elimination at a major international tournament since 2014 in their curtain-raising Group A1 clash against Portugal, only to slip to a 2-1 defeat in Lisbon. Without a win in four matches (D2, L2), Zlatko Dalic’s men relish the upcoming home return, knowing they’ve only lost once in their last seven internationals on their own patch (W4, D2). As three of those four victories yielded a clean sheet, it’s only natural to assume an opening goal could be a game-defining moment for the Croatians. Topically, they got the better of Poland in the last encounter between the two nations in 2008 by a goal ‘to nil.’ It was the third time in as many H2Hs between Croatia and Poland that one or both sides failed to get on the scoresheet.

With each of those three fixtures also featuring under 1.5 goals, traveling fans cannot expect a spectacular contest in Osijek. However, against this low-scoring backdrop, Poland bounced back from a dire group-stage exit at Euro 2024 with a goal-glutted 3-2 away win against Scotland in their curtain-raising Group A1 outing, scoring as many goals in that match as they did in three Euro games earlier in the summer. On top of that, Poland’s last six internationals have produced a stunning average of 3.5 goals per game, highlighting the potential for a blockbuster affair. After losing their first three away matches of 2023, Michal Probierz’s charges have won their last three outings on foreign soil, racking up two clean sheets.