It was clear even before the game between Sweden and the Czech Republic that Poland was the team to beat in the play-off final. Sweden moved on after beating the Czech Republic in overtime and now they are up against a Poland. Poland is a clearly better team than the Czech Republic, Sweden will really need to make a good effort on Tuesday to have a chance to move on to the World Cup.
Last clash between the teams was in the Euros last year
Sweden and Poland met not too long ago when the teams were drawn for the same group in last year’s European Championships. Sweden won that match after a late goal by Viktor Claesson in the 94th minute. Sweden took the lead with 2-0 after two goals by Emil Forsberg but then Poland managed to come back to 2-2 after two goals by none other than Lewandowski.
Poland comes in to this match with a 1-1 tie against Scotland in their last match which they played instead of a play-off semi-final against Russia after Russia was thrown out of all competetions. The game ended 1-1 after a late penalty kick by Polish striker Piatek in the 94th minute.
Robert Lewandowski did not play a single minute, perhaps to be completely rested for this match against Sweden. But if he had played, the result would probably have been different, who knows? In any case, Poland is a good team and has lately had really good results against good teams. They faced England in their World Cup qualifying group where they lost the first meeting 2-1 but then they played a 1-1 tie in the second game. They also had a tie game against Spain in last year’s European Championships so it is not a bad team Sweden will face on Tuesday.
Sweden didn’t impress in the game against the Czech Republic
Sweden moved on despite a rather poor effort in my opinion. But in the end, it was the result that counted and the important thing was to move on. They kept a clean sheet, which was well done, but a lot was due to the Czech Republic’s really bad finishing, the created a lot of good chances. Sweden felt a little bit insecure in the defence and had a hard time creating dangerous good scoring oppurtunities. If you Sweden are to move on against Poland, they need to be on their toes and be a lot better than in the last game.
Now, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Emil Krafth will also be available after both were suspended against the Czech Republic. Krafth will be a very good addition to Sweden’s offensive as his replacement Danielson is a much more defensive player, much because he usually plays center back. With Krafth on the right wing, Sweden can vary their attacks much more than they could do against the Czech Republic. And what Zlatan adds to this team, most of us know, he have been a powerhouse in world football for two decades now.
Pick of the game
This is an important match for both teams as it decides what team will go through to the World Cup. I think that Sweden will play better than they did against the Czech Republic and therefore my bet will be that Sweden will draw or win and under 3.5 goals in the match to 1.81 on Betway.
