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Football: Poland to play Bosnia-and-Herzegovina in Nations League

14.10.2020 10:30
Poland’s national football team is set to take on Bosnia-and-Herzegovina at home on Wednesday in its fourth match in the group stage of the Nations League.
Poland players in training ahead of the game against Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, at the Municipal Stadium in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
Poland players in training ahead of the game against Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, at the Municipal Stadium in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński

The game kicks off at 8:45 p.m. in the southwestern Polish city of Wrocław and follows three previous Nations League fixtures in which the Poles tied 0-0 with Italybeat Bosnia-and-Herzegovina 2-1 away, and lost 0-1 to the Netherlands.

Poland, captained by star striker Robert Lewandowski, are looking to put on another strong performance against the Balkan side after a confidence-boosting win in an away clash last month.

At a pre-match news conference in Wrocław on Tuesday, Poland manager Jerzy Brzęczek said: "We are up against a side that make life uncomfortable. We managed to beat them away, but this is a new challenge."

Poland boss Jerzy Brzęczek during a pre-match news conference in Wrocław on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński Poland boss Jerzy Brzęczek during a pre-match news conference in Wrocław on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński

Poland are ranked 19th worldwide by football's governing body FIFA, while Bosnia-and-Herzegovina are No. 50 in the FIFA table.

After three rounds of fixtures, Poland are third in their Nations League Group A1, with four points, as many as the Netherlands and one less than Italy.

On Wednesday, October 7, the Polish team routed Finland 5-1 in a friendly match on home turf that saw a number of less familiar faces fielded by Brzęczek.

The Nations League is the European football governing body UEFA’s newest national-team competition that is now in its second edition.

The competition is designed to enable teams to play against those that are similarly ranked and also offers an alternative path for teams to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

Portugal won the first edition of the Nations League last year.

Upcoming Poland fixtures

October 14: Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nations League, Wrocław)

November 11: Ukraine (friendly, Chorzów)

November 15: Italy (Nations League, Rome)

November 18: The Netherlands (Nations League, Chorzów)

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP, uefa.com