Comments on the match between Netherlands and Poland, 1:45 a.m. on September 5: Determined to reach the top of the table

Netherlands vs Poland form

Although only ranked 2nd in Group G, the Netherlands has many opportunities to win the only ticket directly to the 2026 World Cup. Starting later than the remaining opponents in the group due to being busy participating in UEFA Nations League A, coach Ronald Koeman and his team have only played a total of 2 matches.

But the strength of the top candidate in this group was shown almost perfectly by the Netherlands. In the opening match, despite having to play away to Finland, Van Dijk and his teammates still won convincingly 2-0, thanks to goals in the first 20 minutes of Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries.

Welcoming weak opponent Malta a few days later, the "Orange Storm" had more reason to become fierce, sweeping away the guests with a resounding score of 8-0.

Thanks to pocketing all 6 points, the team from the land of tulips has the same 6 points as Poland but is ranked higher thanks to a superior goal difference, and is only 1 point behind the top spot held by Finland.

In addition, the Netherlands also played 1 and 2 points less than the above 2 opponents, respectively. The capital in hand is enough to help coach Koeman and his team feel more confident in the remaining journey.

But of course, they will not be allowed to be subjective because of the obvious lesson that happened to them in several qualifying campaigns in the past decade, such as Euro 2016 or World Cup 2018.

In contrast to their opponents' brilliant start, Poland are going through a difficult period. Their squad is somewhat aging as key players such as Lewandowski, Piatek, Bednarek, Zielinski... are gradually entering the twilight of their careers.

Comments on the match between Netherlands and Poland, 1:45 a.m. on September 5: Determined to reach the top of the table - photo 2 — The Netherlands is determined to earn 3 more points to climb to the top of Group G.

According to the FIFA rankings updated nearly 2 months ago, the White Eagles have dropped 3 more places, to 37th place. This is the result of Poland's poor performance in recent tournaments.

At the UEFA Nations League 2024/25, Poland only won 1, drew 1 and lost 4. Poor results caused coach Jan Urban and his team to finish at the bottom of Group A1 and have to play in League B next season.

Poland's journey to the 2026 World Cup is not smooth either. After defeating two underdogs Lithuania (1-0) and Malta (2-0) at home, Lewandowski and his teammates suffered a bitter defeat in their visit to Finland in the third match (losing 1-2).

The defeat in Helsinki has put Poland in a very difficult position in their plan to compete for the top spot with the Netherlands. If they continue to leave Rotterdam with their heads down, the White Eagles' chances will be even more fragile. It seems that the hope of finishing second in the group to play in the play-offs is more suitable for the away team's current strength.

Netherlands vs Poland team information

Netherlands: Jeremie Frimpong is absent due to injury.

Poland: Full strength.

Expected lineup Netherlands vs Poland

Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Dijk, Van Hecke, Van de Ven; De Jong, Gravenberch, Reijnders; Simons, Depay, Gakpo

Poland: Skorupski; Bednarek, Kedziora, Kiwior; Cash, Zielinski, Szymanski, Slisz, Zalewski; Lewandowski, Piatek

Prediction: 2-1

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/nhan-dinh-tran-dau-ha-lan-vs-ba-lan-1h45-ngay-59-quyet-tam-len-dinh-bang-165854.html