In a thrilling Nations League match, Poland made an impressive comeback from a two-goal deficit to secure a 3-3 draw against Croatia. The visitors had initially taken control of the game with three goals in the first half, but were later equalized and their goalkeeper sent off.
This draw puts Croatia in second place in Group A1 with seven points, ahead of Poland who are in third with three points. Portugal currently leads the group with 10 points, while Scotland is at the bottom with only one point.
Seeking revenge for their previous loss to Croatia in September, Poland chose to start 20-year-old Kacper Urbanski instead of their all-time top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, who had been on a two-game losing streak. The match started off strong for the hosts, with Captain Piotr Zielinski scoring the first goal in the fifth minute.
However, Croatia quickly turned the tables and scored three goals in just seven minutes, with Borna Sosa’s volley in the 19th minute leveling the score. Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina then added two more goals for Croatia, but Poland was able to reduce the deficit with Nicola Zalewski’s impressive goal just before half-time. In the final seconds of the first half, Jakub Kaminski almost equalized for Poland, but Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic made an incredible save.
The visitors held onto their lead until the 68th minute when Lewandowski assisted Sebastian Szymanski in scoring the equalizer. The game took another dramatic turn when Livakovic was sent off for a foul on Lewandowski in the 76th minute, but Poland failed to take advantage.
Next, Poland will travel to Portugal on November 15 and host Scotland three days later, while Croatia will face Scotland and Portugal in their final two group matches.
