Nigeria travel to the Stadion Narodowy later today to face Poland in an international friendly clash.
Poland vs Nigeria
Wednesday 3 June, 19:45
Stadion Narodowy
Poland narrowly failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after suffering a devastating 3-2 defeat to Sweden in their UEFA play-off final, including conceding a heartbreaking 88th-minute winner to Viktor Gyokeres.
Poland subsequently failed to respond to that defeat in their friendly clash with Ukraine last weekend, losing 2-0 to Ukraine, and they will be eager to avoid suffering a third consecutive loss when they take on Nigeria.
Nigeria similarly failed to qualify for the World Cup 2026, losing 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with DR Congo in their CAF qualifying play-off final, but they have responded well in the months since that loss.
Since suffering that defeat, Eric Chelle’s men have lost just one match inside 90 minutes, alongside eight wins and three draws – one ended in a penalty win and one in a penalty loss.
Most recently, the Super Eagles showed their class in the Unity Cup, defeating Zimbabwe 2-0 in the semi-final before comfortably beating Jamaica 3-0 in the final, retaining the trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
Those results will give Nigeria plenty of confidence heading into this clash with Poland, while they were also triumphant in their last meeting back in 2018.
Team News
Despite finishing their clash with Ukraine without any new injuries, manager Jan Urban is likely to make changes following a disappointing defeat.
Jan Bednarek was an unused substitute in that match, and the defender is likely to start in this one, while veteran Robert Lewandowski is one star certain to keep this place in the team.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will be without two of their biggest superstars for the friendly fixtures against Poland and Portugal, with Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman unavailable due to fitness and transfer uncertainties.
Alhassan Yusuf, Nigeria’s hero in the Unity Cup final with two goals, is unavailable due to visa complications, meaning the midfielder could be replaced by the returning Alex Iwobi.
Poland Predicted XI: Bulka, Kedziora, Bednarek, Kiwior, Pyrka, Zielinski, Piotrowski, Zalewski, Swiderski, Lewandowski, Kaminski
Nigeria Predicted XI: Okoye, Bright-Samuel, Ajayi, Bassey, Onyemaechi, Ndidi, Onyeka, Iwobi, Simon, Adams, Onuachu
Bet9ja Bet Builder
Nigeria are in significantly stronger form than their hosts and will be confident of winning the game, although with Poland’s strong attacking quality and the Super Eagles defence possible to get at, both teams will be expected to score.
Given the absence of Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams will be looked to by Nigeria to score the goals, and given his strong recent form, with three goals in his last six games for the Super Eagles, the striker will fancy his chances of scoring.
You can get odds of 11.00 by selecting these three bets as part of a Bet Builder at Bet9ja – 5GMNY7Q
Bet9ja Odds (at time of writing): Poland win: 2.08, Draw: 3.40, Nigeria win: 3.60
