Poland’s Nicola Zalewski on Monday scored a 90th-minute goal to snatch a 2-1 win over Turkey in the final warm-up match for both sides before Euro 2024, but the hosts will be worried over injuries to strikers Karol Swiderski and Robert Lewandowski.
Swiderski opened the scoring in the 12th minute, slipping his shot under the legs of goalkeeper Mert Gunok, but as the forward celebrated he came down awkwardly on his ankle and went off injured shortly afterward.
“Karol has sprained his ankle and only after the tests will we know what the situation looks like. There will certainly be no changes made,” Poland manager Michal Probierz said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Turkey equalized in the 77th minute with two substitutes involved when Kenan Yildiz passed to Baris Alper Yilmaz on the edge of the penalty area and his shot went through the legs of defender Bartosz Salamon and past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
LATE WINNER
Both sides had chances to find a winner, but it was Poland who extended their unbeaten run to eight games when Zalewski went on a solo run into the penalty area and netted a fine goal in the final minute.
“We haven’t won for five games, but in all the friendly matches we had difficult opponents,” Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella said, with his side having held European champions Italy to a 0-0 draw last week.
CONCERN
“What worries me is that we work hard, we try, and every failure affects our well-being. I’m not worried because we had 20 scoring opportunities. We need to have better efficiency, I am aware of that,” he said.
Poland had already lost Arkadiusz Milik to injury during their 3-1 win over Ukraine on Friday last week, with the Juventus forward then left out of the squad, and, after Swiderski’s injury, manager Probierz could have even more problems.
The sight of talisman Lewandowski going off injured late in the first half was the last thing any Polish fan wanted to see, but his injury might not be as serious as Swiderski’s.
“Robert has a slight injury, but there should be no problem,” Probierz said after he became the Poland manager with the most successful start after eight games without defeat since he took over in September last year.
Poland face the Netherlands in their Euro 2024 opener on Sunday, while Turkey take on Georgia on Tuesday next week.
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