Sports Mole previews Monday’s World Cup Qualifying – Europe clash between Malta and Poland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Needing a miracle in Malta to qualify automatically for World Cup 2026, Poland head to the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali for their final Group G fixture on Monday evening.
The Eagles remain three points behind the Netherlands following Friday’s 1-1 draw, while their hosts have already been eliminated from contention.
Match preview
Winning in Warsaw would have blown Group G wide open for Poland on Friday night, when the Eagles found themselves three points adrift of the Netherlands both before and after kickoff, having had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Ronald Koeman’s men.
Jakub Kaminski had seemingly broken the deadlock at the perfect time for Poland, who went into the break 1-0 up thanks to the Koln winger’s strike on the 43-minute mark, but the Dutch replied just two minutes into the second half through all-time top scorer Memphis Depay.
Poland’s stalemate with Oranje has almost certainly just delayed the Netherlands’ advancement to North America, as not only are Jan Urban‘s men three points behind in second place, they also boast a significantly inferior goal difference of +6 compared to the leaders’ +19.
As a result, Poland will only overtake the Netherlands and finish first if they beat Malta, if Koeman’s side suffer a shock home loss to Lithuania, and if there is a 13-goal swing in their favour on Monday – a surely impossible set of circumstances.
However, as Urban’s men are also four points better off than Finland, they will advance to the playoffs at the very worst, and a five-game unbeaten run in all tournaments at least gives the visitors a solid foundation to build on in 2026.
While Poland’s World Cup journey will continue regardless of what happens on Monday night, minnows Malta have already been condemned to their fate and are still yearning for a first-ever appearance at a major international tournament.
In a group comprising the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Lithuania, Malta were always anticipated to battle with the latter to avoid finishing bottom of the section, and that exact scenario will materialise on the final matchday.
Emilio De Leo’s men sit two points better off than the Lithuanians in fourth place in the group, thanks to their first win at the seventh attempt on Friday evening, when they upset Finland 1-0 in Helsinki thanks to Jake Grech’s 82nd-minute winner.
Malta’s surprise success in Scandinavia ended the hosts’ four-year wait for another World Cup Qualifying win, having not prevailed in the preliminary rounds since September 2021, as well as marking their second victory from four games in all competitions after a friendly triumph over San Marino in September.
However, De Leo’s side were comfortably dispatched 2-0 by Poland away from home in March, meaning that the Reds have now suffered five defeats from their previous five games against the Eagles, conceding 15 goals and scoring a grand total of zero in that time.
Malta World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
Malta form (all competitions):
Poland World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
Poland form (all competitions):
Team News
Poland boss Urban will receive a double boost in time for Monday’s game, as Bartosz Slisz and Przemyslaw Wisniewski are both back from yellow-card suspensions served in the draw with the Netherlands.
Atlanta United midfielder Slisz’s return is particularly timely, as Poland lost fellow lynchpin Sebastian Szymanski to injury after just 13 minutes on Friday evening, although it is still unclear how serious his issue is.
Regardless, Slisz should be a straight swap for Szymanski in the engine room, while legendary striker Robert Lewandowski sports the captain’s armband on his 163rd appearance for the national team.
Likewise, Malta will also welcome two players back from bans in the shape of defender Ryan Camenzuli and Reims midfielder Teddy Teuma, the latter of whom is the joint-highest scorer in the hosts’ squad with four goals to his name.
In spite of Grech’s winner off the bench in Finland, a refreshed Teuma is better placed to start in the number 10 position, offering support to fellow France-based attacker Irvin Cardona (Saint-Etienne).
Further back, Enrico Pepe came off injured in the 88th minute of Friday’s win; Wigan Athletic’s James Carragher is an option to replace him, but Jean Borg should be given the nod over Jamie Carragher‘s son.
Malta possible starting lineup:
Bonello; Muscat, Borg, Shaw, Corbalan; Satariano, Guillaumier; J. Mbong, Teuma, Chouaref; Cardona
Poland possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Kedziora, Ziolkowski, Kiwior; Cash, Slisz, Zielinski, Skoras; Zalewski, Kaminski; Lewandowski
We say: Malta 0-2 Poland
Malta’s defensive diligence took Finland by surprise on Friday night, but with all due respect to the Nordic nation, their attack would not have struck as much fear in the Reds’ hearts as Poland’s should.
Even if victory for the visitors just rubber-stamps second place, they should run into few difficulties getting the job done.
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