JAKARTA - Poland will undergo the first match of Euro 2020 when Slovakia is challenged in the Group E match at St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday night, 23.00 WIB. Victory will relax the burden because the next two matches are much tougher, against Spain and Sweden.
Reporting Antara, Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar will be tasked with stopping Polish striker Robert Lewandowski who is eager to prove his quality in major tournaments after triumphing with Bayern Munich at club level. Lewandowski was the first goalscorer in the 2012 finals and guided Poland to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.
Both Lewandowski and Skriniar played a major role in the success of their respective clubs in the 2020/2021 season. Skriniar led Inter Milan to win the Serie A with a record of conceding very few, while Lewandowski brought Bayern again to win the Bundesliga which is juxtaposed with the record for the highest goalscorer.
🤣 Watch out, @lewy_official! 🚿⚠️ #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/LTYnlLBF8b
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 14, 2021
Slovakia will also rely on the support of two creative midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Marek Hamsik. The latter is the Slovakian captain who helped lead this country to the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup.
If Poland's squad is filled with big names, including Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Euro 2016 star Grzegorz Krychowiak, then Slovakia's secret weapon is their knowledge of Polish football, beyond the star players who have strengthened their opponents.
Goalkeeper Dusan Kuciak and defender Lubomir Satka are players in the Polish premier league, while Lukas Haraslin and Ondrej Duda both played in Poland before moving to Europe's top leagues.
They could also benefit from Poland's heavy burden of clearing doubts of a convincing opening game.
So far Poland has failed to win in five of their opening six matches in major tournaments of the 21st century despite often being the favorites.
Meanwhile, Slovakia will step on the field at the Saint Petersburg Stadium with an underdog status, making it easier to go through the game and play more freely than Poland, who won the qualifying group required to let go of bad luck in the opening match.
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Statistics
This is the ninth meeting between Poland and Slovakia. So far Poland won three times, while Slovakia four times, the rest drew.
Under new manager Paulo Sousa, Poland has been unable to win four of their five games.
Robert Lewandowski is Poland's all-time leading goalscorer with 66 goals and has made his most appearances for the national team, 119 times.
In Slovakia, Marek Hamsik topped the list of national goalscorers with 26 goals and 126 caps.
The last meeting between the two countries took place in 2013 and ended in a 2-0 win for Slovakia.
Both teams have both recorded one win in their last five matches leading up to Euro 2020, but Poland has lost more often, namely two against one against Slovakia. Poland won against weak team Andorra (3-0), while Slovakia beat strong team Russia (2-1)
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