Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
One of the matches of the second round of the Euro 2025 U-21 group stage will take place on Saturday in Trencin, where Portugal will face Poland. I'm backing a bet on goals in this clash with an attractive odds.
Match preview
The Portugal U21 team, led by seasoned coach Rui Jorge, kicked off their European Championship campaign with a goalless draw against France, showcasing a solid level of play but missing the desired result. The squad boasts an impressive array of talent, most notably the wide threats of Geovani Quenda and Roger, as well as a midfield anchored by Paulo Bernardo and Mateus Fernandes. Despite this, recent results are a concern: just one win in their last five outings, including defeats in friendlies against England and Romania.
Despite their high quality, Portugal are still searching for the optimal balance between attack and defence. The absence of Fabio Silva and Eduardo Quaresma for various reasons has somewhat weakened the lineup, but the overall quality still allows them to aim for dominance in the upcoming clash. With a tricky matchup against Georgia looming, three points against Poland are now crucial in the group.
Poland’s youngsters entered the tournament as dark horses and suffered a 1-2 defeat to Georgia in the opener, showing spirit but faltering late on. Adam Majewski’s side may lack big names, but boast exciting representatives of Poland’s new generation – Kacper Kozlowski and Jakub Kaluzinski, both able to deliver creative sparks in attack. Poland navigated qualifying confidently, losing only to Germany, and now hope to avoid the fate of the last two Euros, where they failed to reach the knockout stages.
Despite a limited squad, the Poles know how to apply pressure and exploit open spaces – especially with runs from deep and central attacks. Their approach will focus on a cautious game plan with quick breaks, hoping to catch Portugal out on mistakes. However, issues with finishing and defensive inconsistency remain the main obstacles to picking up points.
Probable lineups
- Portugal U21: S. Soares, R. Pinheiro Ferreira, C. Lamba, J. Muniz, R. Rodrigues, M. Fernandes, D. Nascimento, P. Bernardo, G. Quenda, T. Tomas, R. Fernandes
- Poland U21: K. Tobiasz, D. Marchuk, P. Peda, A. Mosór, M. Gurgul, A. Pyrka, K. Kozlowski, J. Kaluzinski, A. Kozubal, M. Fornalczyk, F. Szymczak
Match facts and head-to-head
- Both teams have scored in four of the last five meetings between these sides
- Poland have not beaten Portugal at the U21 Euros since 2004
- The "both teams to score" bet has landed in 78.6% of Poland U21’s recent matches
Prediction
On paper, Portugal look superior and, with proper focus, should be able to control the tempo through their technical midfield and creative flanks. However, Poland have already shown they can cause problems even for the favourites, thanks to their physicality and counter-attacking threat. Both teams have exchanged goals regularly in recent fixtures, and this clash is unlikely to be any different. Our pick: "Both teams to score" at 1.79.
