馃嚦馃嚞NigeriaWest Africa
World Cup absentees Poland and Nigeria to meet in friendly in Warsaw
via Punch Nigeria9 min read
Poland will host Nigeria in an international friendly match at the PGE Narodowy in Warsaw today. Both nations narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup; Nigeria lost to DR Congo in the African playoffs, while Poland was defeated by Sweden in the UEFA qualification play-offs. Nigeria, under coach Eric Chelle, has been rebuilding since their World Cup miss, finishing third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and winning three of their last four matches. Poland, led by Jan Urban, is looking to recover from a 2-0 defeat to Ukraine and has struggled defensively, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches. The Super Eagles are currently 26th in FIFA rankings, nine places above Poland, and are unbeaten in their last five matches since a penalty shootout loss in the AFCON semi-finals. Nigeria also holds a psychological advantage from their only previous encounter with Poland, a 1-0 friendly win in March 2018. Nigeria will be without key forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman for the match.
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