Spain return to the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla stadium where they picked up a point against Sweden on matchday one but this time Poland are the opponents and will be looking to get their first points of the group stages, hoping to break down the solid Spanish defence.
Poland will be under pressure to get a result but of course they will be aware that Spain had 81.5% of possession in their first game, the largest ever figure in a single major tournament by fulltime and they know they have to work even harder to keep the ball themselves and get a result even though Spain are unbeaten in 14 internationals on home soil.
In their last five previous meetings, Spain have won all five, scoring 18 goals and conceding just three.
Spain are 1/36 to win the game and Poland are 9/0 to win the game.
- Previous defensive record:
Spain could only muster up a 0-0 draw with Sweden in matchday one although they will be happy to have kept a clean sheet. Poland were on the losing side, 2-1, to Slovakia in game one with one of the two goals for Slovakia, being an own goal by Polish keeper Wojciech Szczęsny.
With a win rate of 71.43% from internationals as a first goalscorer, Álvaro Morata has scored three of Spain’s last four goals at the Euros. Meanwhile, striker Robert Lewandowski has a point to prove, after scoring with just two of his 35 shots for Poland at major tournaments. He last scored against a nation currently in FIFA’s top ten back in October 2016.
Sergio Busquets (Spain) is a doubt with illness. Grzegorz Krychowiak (Poland) is suspended after picking up a red card against Slovakia.
Spain possible line-up: Simón; Azpilicueta, Laporte, Pau Torres, Alba: Llorente, Busquets/Rodri, Pedri; Gerard Moreno, Morata, Olmo
Poland possible line-up: Szczęsny; Bereszyński, Glik, Bednarek; Jóźwiak, Moder, Linetty, Rybus; Klich, Zieliński; Lewandowski
Team view:
Pablo Sarabia, Spain forward: “The mood and the goals are the responsibility of all of us. We all defend, we all attack. Morata’s attacking work is to be admired. He’s a cracker of a player. The stats show it: the caps, the goals.
Jan Bednarek, Poland defender: “We know how to play, what to do in order to win. If any player does not, it’s better that he stays at the team base in Sopot. There is a big will to show that all is not lost. I do believe this will be a breakthrough moment for us.”
Last six form guide:
Spain: DWDWWD
Poland: LDDLWD
Poland will be looking to replicate the feats by Sweden by getting at least a point out of Spain but another loss here would make it very difficult for them to repeat their Euro 2016 quarter-final appearance.
They can be confident though because they have had a win on Spanish soil although it came at the Spain-held 1982 World Cup tournament.
Spain seems to be slowly feeling its way into this tournament though and will be aware of the threat that Poland striker Lewandowski can possess.
He in turn will be looking to lead his team to victory against this Spanish side to give his team hope that they can progress but if Spain play keep ball, it will only be a matter of time before they find the back of the net in time to finish the group on a high.
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