Image via @LaczyNasPilka on Twitter
Poland racked up the goals as they eased past a poor Estonia side to reach the all important Euro 2024 play-off match against Wales on Tuesday. Goals from Przemysław Frankowski, Piotr Zieliński, Jakub Piotrowski and Sebastian Szymański, as well as an own goal by Karol Mets, saw a dominant home side romp to victory.
Jakub Piotrowski and Nicola Zalewski were the standout performers on an evening when Poland were expected to do well. Piotrowski played the through ball to set-up Frankowski’s opener, before scoring Poland’s third from range in the second half. Zalewski had an equally busy evening, drawing two fouls from Estonian defender Maksim Paskotsi which resulted in the Grasshoppers player getting himself sent off after just 26 minutes, before Zalewski grabbed two assists in the second half.
There was some ire about the consolation goal which Poland conceded, so easily avoidable it was. Many will point the finger at Jan Bednarek or Wojciech Szczęsny but it should’ve been stopped far higher up the pitch.
Unfortunately, shortly after his introduction at half-time, Matty Cash went down with what appeared to be a hamstring problem. After the match there was footage of him walking out of the stadium and despite being asked about it in the post-match press conference Michał Probierz didn’t seem hugely concerned.
Really, this was an evening where even the slightest mistakes are bound to get pounced upon given the nature of Estonia’s performance, but you can only beat what’s in front of you and Poland will really be up against it when they go to Cardiff in four days’ time.
For what it’s worth, I had a feeling that Piotrowski might not quite be as effective in an attacking sense as someone like Sebastian Szymański or Jakub Moder (who made his first Poland appearance in two years off the bench tonight), but I was glad to be proved wrong. Zalewski’s performance was a pleasant surprise as well, given how little time he has had on the pitch at Roma so far this season.
Now Poland can go into Tuesday’s game against Wales with confidence in their goalscoring at least, certainly on the basis of how many shots they were able to get away in the second half. Wales are sure to be a very tough test, but Poland have a decent recent record against them.
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