Lewandowski back for honor, the country victim of a cyberattack… What you need to know about Poland, the Blues’ third opponent

The French team’s last opponent in the group stage of Euro 2024, Poland will play the match to avoid zero points on Tuesday, having already been eliminated after their defeat against Austria on Friday.

A formality for Didier Deschamps’ men? For its third match of Euro 2024, the France team faces Poland on Tuesday June 25 to secure a qualifying place in the round of 16. After their 0-0 draw against the Netherlands, the Blues will have to do better than the Batavians to hope to climb to first place in group D. Opposite, the Poles will play for honor, already eliminated from the race for the final table after their defeat against Austria (1-3).

A little (first) turn and then leaves

If Poland is used to qualifying for the Euro – it has been present in each edition since 2008 – its performances rarely go down in history, with a quarter-final in 2016 as its only feat of arms. The 2024 edition will be no exception to the rule, since the men of Michal Probierz are already eliminated, after only two matches and as many defeats (1-2 against the Netherlands, 1-3 against Austria).

Without Arkadiusz Milik (hit in the knee) and without Robert Lewandowski when they entered the fray, the White and Red were not unworthy. They believed for a long time to hold the point of the draw against the Dutch, before cracking in the 83rd minute. They lasted a little less long (sixty-six minutes) against Austria. Their last dance during this Euro could be used to test the new kids, in order to make the transition with an aging generation.

Black screen in Poland

Although Poland’s first match against the Netherlands (1-2) was broadcast unencrypted on public television, many Poles were unable to watch it on June 16. The fault lies in a cyberattack, attributed to Russian hackers by the Deputy Minister for Digital Affairs of Poland, Pawel Olszewski.

“The aim was to prevent Polish citizens from watching the Poland match. The disruption started exactly at kick-off time, at 3 p.m. on Sunday,” affirms the minister in a local medial. Fervent support of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Poland claims to be “on the front lines of the cyber fight against Russia”. Viewers were, however, able to watch their team suffer against Austria (1-3), during the second day of the group stage.

Robert’s “der”?

Injured in the thigh just before the Euro, the top Polish scorer in history (82 goals) missed the first day of the competition and only played thirty minutes against Austria on Friday. But after this exit from the bench, Robert Lewandowski should regain his starting position against France, to the delight of the Polish coach. “There is a big difference between having the best player in the world on the bench and whether he is available to play or not.”assured Michal Probierz before facing Austria.

The captain, who became assistant to the coach on the bench because he was unable to play, will return for a match to the grounds of Dortmund, where he played for four seasons in the Bundesliga before becoming the world-famous series scorer for his rival of Bayern Munich. At 35, Robert Lewandowski is undoubtedly playing his last Euro, a competition which has had little success for him, with only five goals scored in 12 matches (over four editions).