A beautiful goal did not save the Polish national team. Shock at PGE Narodowy!
The match between Poland and Scotland at the end of the group stage of the UEFA Nations League ended with a 1-2 defeat. Thus, the Poles were relegated from the A division, and the Scots will play in the play-offs.
It must be admitted that the matches of the Polish national team led by coach Michał Probierz have their own drama. It was no different in the last group match of the A division, where Poland played against Scotland at the PGE National Stadium. The White and Reds needed a draw to secure third place in the table. It gave us a pass to… the play-offs to stay in the elite of the competition. And this priceless one seemed to be achieved.
Poland – Scotland. Kamil Piątkowski’s great goal did not save the national team!
However, as has been the case in recent months, the Poles’ defense once again failed. The match hadn’t really started yet, probably not everyone was in their seats at PGE Narodowy, and a goal had already been scored, making it 1-0 for the Scots. John McGinn took advantage of a very good move from Ben Doak and had no problems with defeating the helpless Łukasz Skorupski. The Polish goalkeeper could only wave his hand at his teammates.
To make things not so bad, the hosts had situation after situation in the offensive. Sebastian Szymański, Adam Buksa, Karol Świderski tried again and again to find a way to equalize. Nicola Zalewski and Jakub Kamiński were constantly tugging on the wing. However, instead of a goal, it ended in disappointment. No matter what, it was obvious that Robert Lewandowski could have added his foot and scored, if only… he had not been injured and showed up at the November training camp.
Fortunately, in the second 45 minutes, Kamil Piątkowski scored an important goal to enter the play-off zone of division A in the Nations League. As it turns out, in the case of the Polish national team, defenders perform better offensively than defensively. The defender, who usually plays for RB Salzburg, roared from outside the penalty area so much that his hands folded in applause. Just a beautiful goal!
However, to make things not so rosy, the Poles did not manage to win the match. The Polish players conceded a goal at 1:2 in the added time of the second half of the match. Thus, the Scots won 2-1 and they will remain in division A for the next season of the UEFA Nations League. The goal was scored by visiting captain Andrew Robertson. It is worth adding that Zalewski was very passive in this situation, proving not for the first time that although he gives a lot to the team offensively, he has a lot to improve defensively.
Poland, however, has a lot of food for thought. Although the Poles had their situations, they were also very lucky. The Scots hit the post and crossbar twice in the first half. So it wasn’t like they were just watching the hosts play football either.
The picture is broader. Out of 17 matches under coach Probierz’s leadership, the first eight looked good. In the next nine, the Poles won only once, in an away match against Scotland in Glasgow (3-2). Goal balance? 12:22…
