Poland vs Romania – News and Probable Lineups

Poland takes on Romania in the UEFA Nations League this Friday evening, a match that may turn out to be crucial in Group B4.

While Poland has managed to secure only one point from their first two games, Romania has experienced back-to-back losses.

Match overview

Following their absence from the World Cup, everyone connected with Poland would have been hoping for a strong opening to this tournament as they aim to get back on track before the Euro 2028 qualifiers.

However, a scoreless draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina at home was followed by a 3-1 loss to Sweden.

It’s worth noting that Poland has faced two teams that are likely to participate in the 2026 World Cup, while Jan Urban continues to strive to gain the support of fans.

With only five wins in his 12 matches at the helm, Poland is currently in a five-match winless streak.

Urban’s victories have come against Finland, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, and Albania.

Nevertheless, Urban and his squad might be excited about facing a Romanian team that has lost both of their first matches.

They conceded five goals in the first half during a 2-1 defeat to Sweden and a 4-2 loss at home against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In their last eight matches, Romania has claimed just two victories—against San Marino and Wales—yet has not managed to keep a clean sheet.

A defeat in Warsaw on Friday would leave Romania four points behind third place in the group and staring down the bleak possibility of relegation.

The two nations last met during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, where Poland won 3-1 at home in June 2017.

Team News

Given that the back three did not yield positive results against Sweden, Poland’s coach Urban might revert to a four-man defence for this match.

Robert Lewandowski is expected to be reinstated as the central forward, while Przemyslaw Frankowski could take Matty Cash’s place at right-back, as Cash has played only twice recently due to a minor club-related issue before the international break.

Bartosz Slisz and Michal Skoras may also be brought into central midfield and the wings respectively.

Romania’s head coach Gheorghe Hagi could also change the formation, potentially switching back to a three-man defence which helped them against Sweden in the first match.

Virgil Ghita and Tudor Baluta could return to bolster the defence and midfield, respectively, but Daniel Birligea is likely to retain his spot in the attack after scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Poland probable starting XI:

Roll; Frankowski, Potulski, Bednarek, Kiwior; Skoras, Zielinski, Slisz, Kaminski; Szymanski; Lewandowski

Romania probable starting XI:

Radu; Ghita, Coubis, Dragusin; Ratiu, Marin, Baluta, Bancu; Hagi; Man, Birligea

While Romania has demonstrated that they can find the back of the net in this group, they appear ill-equipped to secure a clean sheet on the road against a team like Poland, even if Lewandowski is not the dominant force he once was.

As a result, the home side may well clinch a hard-fought three points—a result that could very well dictate their fate in maintaining their status at this level versus the threat of relegation.