All eyes will be on Ballon d'Or favourite Robert Lewandowski when Poland take on Slovakia in a crucial Group E match at UEFA Euro 2020. With higher-ranked and heavyweights Spain and Sweden also in the group, both Poland and Slovakia will hope to take all three points from the match tonight.
Poland, playing their fourth successive European Championships, will heavily rely on their star forward Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich frontman dominated the scoring charts in German Bundesliga, breaking legendary Gerd Muller's 49-year-old single-season record. If he continues to fire, Paulo Sousa's outfit will leave some mark.
And they have the belief to do so. Poland Group G in the qualifiers. But they failed to make an impression at the UEFA Nations League, which led to the sacking of Jerzy Brzeczek. Now under Sousa, Poland are chasing a big dream.
In contrast, Slovakia featured in the play-offs to qualify for the finals. And they were also relegated from League B of the Nations League. But they managed to produce good results in the friendlies, in the run-up to the Euros.
For Stefan Tarkovic's side, Marek Hamsik holds the key. The former Napoli midfielder has been struggling to keep himself fit. If he fails to turn up, both literally and figuratively, Slovakia will find it difficult to match Poland's otherwise slick game.
Head-to-head: Slovakia enjoy a 4-3 in eight previous meetings. Slovakia also won the last meeting, 2-0 in 2013.
Match and telecast details
Match: UEFA European Championship 2021, Group E match between Poland and Slovakia.
Date: June 14 (Monday), 2021
Time: 9:30 PM IST
Venue: Krestovsky Stadium (Gazprom Arena), Saint Petersburg, Russia.
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV, Jio TV
Likely XIs
Poland: Wojciech Szczesny; Kamil Piatkowski, Kamil Glik, Pawel Dawidowicz, Bartosz Bereszynski; Grzegorz Krychowiak, Mateusz Klich, Piotr Zielinski, Tymoteusz Puchacz; Kamil Jozwiak, Robert Lewandowski.
Slovakia: Martin Dubravka; Peter Pekarik, Lubomir Satka, Milan Skriniar, Tomas Hubocan; Juraj Kucka, Jakub Hromada; Lukas Haraslin, Marek Hamsik, Robert Mak; Ondrej Duda.
