This afternoon, Mexico face off against Poland at Stadium 974, and the Biało-Czerwoni will be looking to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1986.
Poland come into the game with a string of okay results, but their general play has been uninspiring to say the least. Grzegorz Krychowiak said last week that defensive football is the order of the day for Poland and Robert Lewandowski used the word “efficient” in his press conference on Friday. The only possible comfort is that Mexico haven’t been in great form of late either, and will probably be heading into the tournament less confidently than Poland, with the Mexicans having lost their warm-up game against Sweden (the nation Poland beat to be in Qatar) 1-2.
Predicted Poland Starting XI
It’s been predicted that Czesław Michniewicz will opt for a back four this afternoon, shifting away from the traditional back three that has been a feature of his tenure as Selekcjoner. This pivot to the back four seemed to allow Poland to counter more effectively when they tried it in the second half of their warm-up game against Chile last week. There’s some debate as to who will line up next to Kiwior in the centre of defence, but I think it’s most likely that Kamil Glik will take that spot since it would be his 100th cap for Poland. It’s also uncertain whether Michniewicz will deploy two strikers or one and whether there will be room for Jakub Kamiński from the start.
Mexico are rumoured to elect Tomas Henry to lead the line, with Raul Jimenez still working his way back to full fitness. The big danger men will be on the wings, with Hirving Lozano and Alexis Vega sure to cause issues for Bartosz Bereszyński and Matty Cash.
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