Poland vs Sweden

Stadion Śląski is the venue as Poland and Sweden go head-to-head in a ‘winner takes all’ 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off final.

Poland were handed a semi-final bye due to FIFA’s decision to ban Russia from international football, firing them a step closer to reaching back-to-back World Cup finals for the first time in the 21st century. Despite being given home advantage for this high-stakes encounter, the Poles can ill-afford to rest on their laurels after losing their most recent home fixture to FIFA’s 41st-ranked nation Hungary. Poland’s last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Scotland last time out made it two successive internationals without a win (D1, L1), both of which saw Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side concede the opening goal. Adding to the hosts’ list of worries, they’ve lost their last six H2H meetings with Sweden by an aggregate score of 14-3, including a 3-2 defeat at Euro 2020 last summer.

Meanwhile, Sweden, who finished runners-up to Spain in 2022 World Cup qualifying Group B, squeezed past the Czech Republic in the play-off semi-finals (1-0), courtesy of Robin Quaison’s extra-time winner. Despite their eye-catching H2H record, Sweden’s trip to Poland could prove tricky after they only won three of their last 11 World Cup qualifiers on foreign soil (D1, L7). More importantly, each of those three victories came at the expense of nations ranked outside FIFA’s top-90, casting further doubt on their qualification hopes. Topically, Janne Andersson’s men have suffered seven of their last eight away internationals, all competitions included (W1), conceding 2+ goals six times in that sequence. First-half action could be at a premium, as only one of Sweden’s last 13 goals scored/conceded arrived before half-time.