The Poles got this result just before the match. Everything is clear now
Finland sensationally lost at home to Malta 0-1. Thus, Poland is already certain of playing in the play-offs for next year’s World Cup.
The Finns ended their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup badly. Finland could have extended their hopes for the play-offs with a good result in the match against Malta. Instead of winning at home, the Finns showed what a chimerical team they are. Friday’s match ended with a sensational 0-1 defeat for the hosts.
Thus, Malta secured… a certain place in the play-offs for the Polish national team. Even before taking the field for the match against the Netherlands, the Poles know for sure that they will play at least in the play-off zone. Matches in this phase will take place in March 2026.
World Cup 2026: Poland is sure of playing in the play-offs. Disgrace between Finland and Malta!
It turns out, therefore, that the most serious result in the context of the fight for the World Cup for the Polish national team was the June mishap in Helsinki. Affected by various problems, including off-field ones (including Michał Probierz’s conflict with Robert Lewandowski), the Polish team lost 1:2 to the hosts. They performed very poorly, and the match itself was the last one during the term of coach Probierz. The Polish Football Association finally, in consultation with the coach himself, decided to end this cooperation.
The result in Helsinki itself ultimately gave nothing to the Finns. Finland collected only ten points in eight qualifying matches. Interestingly, Malta won only one victory in Group G, on Friday, in Helsinki. This also shows the scale of success recorded by the Maltese national team players in the match against the Finns.
It is worth adding that in the last series of qualifying games, the Poles will play against Malta, on the opponent’s territory. However, it does not seem that coach Urban’s team would allow itself to make any mistakes against a much lower-ranked opponent.
