Poland, Austria chase first win at UEFA Euro 2024 on TSN
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After suffering losses in their opening matches, Poland and Austria will meet as they both try to stay alive in a very competitive Group D at UEFA Euro 2024.
Adam Buksa opened the scoring for Poland in their first match against Netherlands with a 16th- minute header, but markers from Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst meant they remained pointless on the tournament.
"We don't give up. I think we can get stronger and stronger during this tournament,” said Poland head coach Michal Probierz. “The Netherlands game had different moments – good ones for us when we kept the ball and moved smartly, and more difficult ones when we lost it too easily which caused danger in front of our goal. What I liked was that we played aggressively, pressing the Dutch high and trying to recover the ball quickly. We didn't get any points, but we keep our heads high. The aim is to win our two remaining games."
Poland will be hoping to receive a huge boost in their second game with the possible return of captain and all-time leading scorer Robert Lewandowski, who was ruled out of the opening fixture with a thigh injury that he suffered in their final pre-tournament friendly against Turkiye.
The 35-year-old had three goals in three games for Poland at UEFA Euro 2020 and scored twice at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
“Robert Lewandowski is coming back to strength, and he will hopefully play against Austria,” said Probierz. “He’s a very important player for us, and Pawel Dawidowicz hopefully also comes back, the defender. We are not giving up. We will do whatever we can to fight and qualify. I believe that we still have something to prove, and we will be stronger.”
Austria put the clamps down on France superstar Kylian Mbappé in their opener for the most part, but the 25-year-old was still able to impact the game when his 38th-minute cross was turned into the net by Maximilian Wober for an own goal, the difference in a 1-0 defeat.
Christoph Baumgartner had two chances to get Austria on the board, but he was not able to find a way past France keeper Mike Maignan.
"[Monday] was an unlucky defeat – we didn't allow France much in 100 minutes, but in the end it was an unfortunate own goal which decided the game,” said Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick. “In terms of work rate and fight, we got everything we demanded and expected. France have so much quality that it wasn't a completely undeserved win, but we were close to getting something. We're well aware we can lose against France – we're not unrealistic dreamers. We know the situation now. We have to beat Poland to progress. The lads are disappointed that [their performance] wasn't enough for a point, but our focus turns to the future and on Friday we want to win."
Poland and Austria were grouped together in a qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020 and met twice as both earned their places in the tournament.
Poland picked up a 1-0 road win in Vienna with the teams playing to a scoreless draw in the return fixture in Warsaw.