It’s already been a rowdy affair in Nice, France where fan hostilities occurred on the eve of Sunday’s Group C encounter between Poland and Northern Ireland. But don’t expect a ruckus over on the pitch; Poland and Northern Ireland will settle their differences a different way—through world class soccer action. Read on as we take a look at the explosive action to come.
Euro 2016 is already underway. Check out what’s in store with our complete previews for Turkey vs. Croatia and Germany vs. Ukraine.
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Remember this name—Robert Lewandowski. He’s going to be cutting through opposing defenses to do what he does best; that is score goals and more goals. Lewan-goals-ki as he is dubbed by his fans has been one of the premier strikers in the world playing for German club Bayern Münich. The Polish goal-scoring machine scored the most goals in qualifying (13) to lead Poland to the final tournament.
Lewandowski has been red-hot this season with 30 Bundesliga goals—the most scored in Germany’s premier soccer league. He’ll definitely garner the spotlight, and the brunt of Northern Ireland’s defense, in this match. However, he’s not the only strong player for the White Eagles. 22-year-old Arkadiusz Milik should have his own bright spots after scoring 10 goals in just 26 career caps.
Poland have all the talent in the world to dominate this match; they even beat Germany in qualifying.
For all of Poland’s marbles, they may be getting a tough out for their first game of the group stage. Northern Ireland are red hot, riding a 12-game unbeaten streak—a new national record. No other country at Euro 2016 can boast of a longer undefeated run.
Defense was Northern Ireland’s finest point in qualifying, entering the final tournament having not conceded a goal in 271 minutes (just about three matches worth of time). Norn Iron may just have the defense necessary to stifle Poland’s goal-scoring machine Robert Lewandowski.
Northern Ireland also have firepower with 16 qualifying goals. Kyle Lafferty is their star striker after scoring seven goals and assisting in one other in qualifying. Norn Iron are very tricky when it comes to their offense.
More than half of Northern Ireland’s goals came from set-pieces with six from corners and three via indirect free-kicks—the highest ration among Euro 2016 finalists. It takes one very cohesive group to score that many goals off set-pieces. A very organized group may be the ones to topple Poland in their first match of the group stage.
Northern Ireland are unbeaten in their last two matches against Poland (one win, one draw) after losing the previous three.
Writer’s Prediction
Poland (-168) have too much firepower to lose their opener. The White Eagles win 2-1 against Northern Ireland.
