Poland – Albania

Poles on home soil should not easily outplay Albania.

Poland's national football team achieved its best results in the 1970s and 1980s of the last century. Back then the Polish squad finished twice as bronze medalists at the World Cup, and also won the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. With the departure of that generation, the Polish national team became mediocre, and in the last couple of decades its World Cup appearances have occurred four times, with only one reaching the knockout stage and then being eliminated in the first round. Interestingly, even at the European Championship the Polish squad has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals, despite having such a generation of players, including Robert Lewandowski and many others. The Albania national team fully appeared on the European football map in the 1960s, but began to make a real mark only in the last decade. The Albanians never qualified for the World Cup, but in 2016 and 2024 they participated in continental championships. Both attempts ended at the group stage, but in the year before last the Albanians can indeed be proud of their performance. The Albanians fairly narrowly lost to Italy and Spain by a single goal, and also earned a point against Croatia. This team knows how to defend well, as demonstrated in the group stage of the qualifiers, conceding five goals in eight matches, four of which came from much stronger opponents, the English. The winner of the Warsaw match in the playoff final for the right to compete in North America will meet the winner of the Ukraine-Sweden duel. Bookmakers have named the hosts as favorites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.67 on their victory. Poland, in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifying, was in the same group as the Netherlands, which initially made it a contender for second place. The Poles throughout the schedule showed a desire to contend for a direct spot, but the Oranje were unattainable. Albania competed in the same group as England and Serbia. A sensational victory in Belgrade, as well as the Serbian team's downturn, allowed the Albanians to take second place. In 2021 and 2023, Poland and Albania were drawn into the same qualification groups for major tournaments. Poland won three times, but the last meeting ended with Albania's 2:0 victory. Let's bet that the guests will perform well in Warsaw.