Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Italy
Match Time & Date:
07/09/2018
02:45 PM
Prediction: 2-0
Poland
Poland is coming to the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium in Bologna to play an Italian team who will be eager to forget their disappointment of not making the World Cup and get on with qualifying for the Euro 2020. On the other hand, Poland did get to play in the World Cup and even though they didn’t make it out of the group stage, they are not likely to roll over in front of the Italians. After those two forgettable games against Sweden in November 2017, Italy played in five friendlies, winning just one, losing two and drawing two, including the last game they played against the Netherlands. Poland didn’t show much in the World Cup, winning one game and scoring just two goals. Their win against Japan in the last match of their group stage was merely a consolation prize. Italy needs a good win if they are to take first place in a group that also has Portugal in it.
Highlighted Player (Mario Balotelli):
Mario Balotelli is a controversial footballer who played for both Inter and Milan in the past. The Italian attacker, who was born on 12 August, 1990, started his senior career at Lumezzane and in 2007 he signed a contract with the Nerazzurri.
After scoring 20 goals in 59 league appearances with Inter, he moved to Manchester City in 2010. Super Mario spent three seasons at the Etihad Stadium and he returned to Serie A in 2013, signing a deal with Inter’s fiercest rivals Milan this time out. Balotelli scored 26 goals in 43 league games with the Rossoneri, but in the summer of 2014 he signed for Liverpool for a fee of £16 million.
The Italian attacker is well known for his powerful shoot, but he often struggles to control his volatile temper. Super Mario impressed at the 2012 European Championship finals and he helped Italy make it to the final of the tournament. However, Spain proved to be a big catch for the Azzurri in the title game.
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.
