Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Belgium will look to bounce back from an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Netherlands when they take on Poland in yet another highly-anticipated Nations League game. The Red Devils failed to impress in their opener, but they are still seen as favourites to beat the Poles in front of home fans. Romelu Lukaku, who limped off with injury, is unlikely to feature in Wednesday’s clash.
As always, a man to keep an eye on in the home team will be Man City ace Kevin De Bruyne, while Dries Mertens is pushing for a start. Poland, on the other hand, did well to beat Wales in the opening match of their Nations League campaign, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry in Brussels. Belgium want this win more than Poland, and we predict that the Red Devils will prove their worth on the field. Robert Lewandowski is widely expected to lead the line for the visiting side.
Highlighted Player (Thibaut Courtois):
Born on 11 May 1992, Thibaut Courtois is a very talented Belgian goalkeeper who plays for Chelsea. Courtois began his senior football career at Genk, but after spending two seasons at Cristal Arena, he joined Chelsea in 2011.
The club chiefs decided to send him on loan to Atletico Madrid, but seeing that Courtois impressed during his spell with the La Liga team, Jose Mourinho confirmed in June, 2014 that the Belgian goalkeeper would return to Chelsea for the 2014/2015 campaign. Thibaut Courtois helped Chelsea win the Premier League trophy in 2015, but the general impression is that he had performed much better while at Atletico Madrid. He won the La Liga title in the 2013/2014 season, while lifting the UEFA Europa League trophy in 2012.
Two years later Courtois participated in the Champions League final, but Real Madrid proved to be a big catch for Atletico Madrid. Speaking of his individual awards, Thibaut Courtois was named the La Liga Goalkeeper of the Year (2013).
Highlighted Team (Poland):
Poland have recently emerged as one of Europe’s top sides, although they did enjoy some success during the 70’s and 80’s. The White Eagles impressed to achieve third-place finish at the 1974 and 1982 World Cup tournaments, while they also win the 1972 Olympics, albeit with an amateur side.
Poland started showing improvement at the turn of the century, slowly becoming regular at major tournaments and they even co-hosted the Euro 2012 with Ukraine, but disappointed home fans to crash out in the group stage. The new generation, boasting players like Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Lukas Piszczek, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jakub Blaszczykowski, has the potential to help the national team return to old glory days, with some talented players also coming through the youth ranks.
Zbigniew Boniek, Wlodzimierz Lubanski and Grzegorz Lato are some of the other players who have impressed playing for the national team, which has been playing their home games at the National Stadium in Warsaw.