Poland vs Netherlands Euro 2024 Preview

🚨🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski has suffered a torn biceps femoris muscle yesterday night, he will miss opening game vs Netherlands.

Poland report they are doing everything so he can play in 2nd match. pic.twitter.com/nWGt13tZSS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 11, 2024

Poland will kick off their Euro 2024 campaign without star striker Robert Lewandowski in the squad, who experienced hamstring-issues in their final warm-up game against Turkey.

Placed in the so-called “group of death”, the injury to Poland’s record goalscorer is the last thing that coach Michal Probierz needed, and Lewandowski’s absence is further amplified by the loss of Juventus Striker Arkadeusz Milik, who has undergone knee surgery following injury in Poland’s other warm up game against Ukraine.

Lacking their most potent threats up-front, Poland will need to turn to former AC Milan forward Krzysztof Piatek, towering forward Adam Buksa and Verona bench-warmer Karol Swiderski to lead the line in their two-striker system.

The Netherlands also have striking injuries to consider, with a muscle injury to Ajax targetman Brian Brobbey enough to force Dutch coach Ronald Koeman into giving a late call-up to talented Bologna attacker Joshua Zirkzee.

The Dutch squad were handed a big blow when big name midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Teun Koopmeiners were ruled out of the tournament due to serious injuries. The PSV midfield duo of Jerdy Schouten and Joey Veerman, who have been selected in their place, share just 15 caps between them.

However, there are silver linings for the Oranje, who come into the game against Poland undefeated in the last 12 meetings between the sides, and with four wins in five games in the lead up to the Euros.

Wow, The Netherlands fans are in full on party mode ahead of their game against Poland today… 😨

🇳🇱👏 pic.twitter.com/e5qQXxq4iN

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) June 16, 2024

Poland, while they have a significantly weaker squad after injuries, arrive in Hamburg in an excellent run of form, winning five games on the bounce, the most impressive of these being a 3-1 counter-attacking masterclass against Ukraine. With form on their side, the Poles may at least feel some residual confidence in spite of important absences.

What you need to know

Poland recent form: WWWWW Netherlands recent form: WWLWW Kick-off: 2pm GMT, Volksparkstadion, Hamburg.

Wow, The Netherlands fans are in full on party mode ahead of their game against Poland today… 😨

🇳🇱👏 pic.twitter.com/e5qQXxq4iN

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) June 16, 2024

Predicted lineups

Poland (3-5-2): Szczesny, Dawidowicz, Bednarek, Kiwior, Frankowski, Zalewski, Zielinski, Moder, Slisz, Piatek, Buksa.

Netherlands (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen, Frimpong, Van Dijk, De Vrij, Ake, Schouten, Veerman, Simons, Gakpo, Reijnders, Depay.

Prediction

Despite their injury losses, the Netherlands backline remains untouched by such issues, and with six clean sheets in their last seven games, are in peak form coming into their opening fixture. Their recent defensive record, paired with Poland's loss of both starting strikers, indicates that Polish goals may be few and far between.

There may be a return to cautious optimism for Poland when Lewandowski is fit again, likely in time for their next fixture against Austria on June 21st, but taking on a dangerous, established European outfit like the Netherlands with such a depleted squad could just be a bridge too far.

Final score prediction: 3-1 Netherlands