Although Group F has been labelled as the ‘Group of Death’, three of the four teams in Group E also appear to be closely matched, and Poland will fancy their chances of getting through to the round of 16.
They are now managed by Paolo Sousa, and he appears to be a little more progressive in his approach. Although there are many familiar faces within the Polish squad, Sousa has tweaked his side’s tactics and they should be fairly entertaining to watch this summer.
A lot will depend on the fitness of Robert Lewandowski, although there is plenty of quality within the squad, and recent call-up Karol Swiderski has already scored twice since making his international debut earlier this year.
Although they rarely make it beyond the round of 16, the Poles usually have a positive group stage and this looks like a very winnable opener. Slovakia’s form coming into the tournament is concerning, as is their over-reliance on Marik Hamsik.
The talismanic midfielder has been playing his football in Sweden in a bid to be fit for this summer’s tournament, however, they lack an out-and-out goal-scorer and they could struggle to find the back of the net in this opener.
