Spain vs Poland on June 19th: Both sides look to make amends after poor first match showings

Topics: TV Schedules, Spain, Poland, UEFA EURO 2020

Both Spain and Poland will need to make up ground following their disappointing results on matchday one.

Preview: Spain vs Poland

Both Spain and Poland will be looking to recover from poor starts as the two sides lock horns on Saturday. La Roja come into this game off the back of a very frustrating draw with Sweden, where, despite predictably enjoying more of the possession, they were unable to find a breakthrough. With Sweden squeezing by Slovakia thanks to a penalty, Spain will now be under added pressure to pick up maximum points from their upcoming showdown with Poland.

The same can be certainly said for Robert Lewandowski and his colleagues, who were stunned to lose 2-1 to Slovakia on opening day. The Bayern ace was shackled throughout the entire match as he failed to make an impact, and now the Orły find themselves with a lot of work to do if they want to have a shot at qualifying for the round of 16. Lewandowski has found goals a lot harder to come by for Poland than he has for Bayern, and in fact, has failed to score in his last 17 major tournament appearances for his national side since netting against Portugal at the last edition of the Euro championship.

To make matters worse for Poland, they've won just one of their last ten meetings with Spain, losing eight of their other clashes. Interestingly, though, they've done well when playing in Spain for international competitions (just not against Spain). This will be Poland's eighth match in a major competition that they'll be playing on Spanish turf. To date, they have lost just one of their past seven (three wins, three draws).

One player who will definitely be feeling the pressure is Alvaro Morata. The Juventus striker missed a couple of golden chances that would've put his side ahead, but he still maintains the confidence of manager Luis Enrique. As such, he will get another chance to prove himself here as Spain look to rebound after a disappointing beginning to this tournament. Meanwhile, Lewandowski will be another player aiming to finally get up and running, especially after his excellent season with Bayern in which he broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record.

Team news: Spain vs Poland

Spain: The hosts have been given a boost as skipper Sergio Busquets has now passed a COVID-19 test, thus allowing the Barcelona star to link up with the rest of the squad. However, it remains to be seen whether he starts this match or is kept on the bench.

Poland: Grzegorz Krychowiak is suspended after being sent off during Poland's loss to Slovakia.

Match facts: Spain vs Poland

Spain have won eight of their last ten meetings with Poland (D1 L1)
Poland's sole win during this time frame was a 2-1 win during a November 1980 friendly
This will be the first meeting between Spain and Poland at a major international competition
Poland have won just two of their 12 matches in this competition (D6 L4)
La Roja are hoping to avoid matching an unwanted record from Euro 1996: failing to win their first two group stage games
Robert Lewandowski has failed to score in his last 17 appearances for Poland at major tournaments since finding the back of the net against Portugal at Euro 2016
Alvaro Morata has scored three of Spain's last four goals at Euro competitions
Poland will be playing in Spain for the eighth time in a major competition
The Orły have lost just one of their last seven matches in Spain (W3 D3)
Spain have failed to score in two of their last three games across all comps; that's as many as in their prior 51 games