Overview
Since the defeat to Finland in June - which seriously threatened their chances of qualifying for the eighth World Cup - Poland has risen strongly thanks to a change on the coaching bench.
After conflicts with Robert Lewandowski, the greatest striker in the history of the national team, coach Michal Probierz was fired, and Jan Urban was appointed to replace him.
The former striker who played for Poland at the 1986 World Cup not only has a special connection with Lewandowski, but also quickly made a positive impression. Under his leadership, Poland held the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw at De Kuip and then defeated Finland 3-1, raising their total score to 10 points after 5 matches in Group G.
However, the race is not over yet as Finland is close to the same point, despite having played more than once. The second place will ensure a place in the play-off round, but the "White Vultures" can completely overcome the Netherlands to take the top spot. However, they must get a favorable result in the direct confrontation next month.
After easily beating New Zealand in the recent friendly match, Poland will now focus on the rematch with Lithuania - the opponent they only won 1-0 in the first leg thanks to Lewandowski's late goal. Urban hopes his side will have a more convincing home win this weekend.
Ranked 109 places lower than Poland in the FIFA rankings, Lithuania have only won 3 points since the beginning of the qualifying campaign.
Coach Edgaras Jankauskas saw his team make an impressive start when Pijus Sirvys opened the scoring against Finland, but in the end Lithuania still suffered a 1-2 defeat.
Although winning is still a luxury, the Baltic team has shown remarkable progress in recent times. In the previous match, they made the Netherlands sweat, when they were behind 0-2, Lithuania rose up strongly and only lost 2-3 in a brave match.
Obviously, Jankauskas are making full use of limited resources to help their team play more resiliently against strong opponents.
In fact, Lithuania's remaining goal in this qualifying campaign is to avoid reaching the bottom of the table by passing Malta.
Personnel situation
As usual, Poland will be led by Lewandowski, who holds the team's scoring record with 86 goals in 160 appearances. Besides him, vice-captain Piotr Zielinski continues to be a key factor in the midfield.
Three players currently playing in Serie A, Sebastian Walukiewicz, Adam Buksa and Nicola Zalewski, are all absent from this month's training camp, with Zalewski injured in a hamstring injury while playing for Atalanta.
This absence opens up opportunities for Jakub Kaminski or Michal Skoras to take on the left wing role, while Matty Cash and Sebastian Szymanski are likely to continue to coordinate on the right wing.
On the opposite side, Lithuania will almost keep the same starting lineup. However, Jankauskas was forced to make at least one change when Artur Dolznikov was suspended due to receiving enough yellow cards.
This means Fedor Cernych, an experienced striker, has the opportunity to equal the record of 101 caps for the national team. Meanwhile, Gytis Paulauskas is expected to lead the attack, while Gvidas Gineitis will continue to command the midfield for the Baltic team.
Expected lineup:
Poland: Gertmonas, Sirvys, Upstas, Girdvainis, Arvis, Lasickas, Sirgedas,vorobjovas, Gineitis, Cernych, Paulauskas.
Poland: Skorupski, Cash, Wisniewski, Bednarek, Kiwior, Szymanski, Zielinski, Slisz, Kaminski, Swiderski, Lewandowski.
The match between Lithuania and Poland takes place at 1:45 am on October 13 (Vietnam time).
