The Netherlands moved to the very edge of securing their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 1–1 draw in Warsaw, a result that pretty much shuts the door on Poland’s hopes of automatic qualification. With a three-point gap and a heavy 13-goal difference to make up, the Poles now seem almost certain to drop into the play-offs instead.
After the game, the Netherlands posted via their official X handle.
View the post below:
Poland came out like a team who knew exactly what was at stake. Barely a minute had passed when Matty Cash whipped in a low, teasing cross that skidded right through the six-yard box. It found Nicola Zalewski completely free, but instead of the early roar the home fans were waiting for, his finish flew over the bar, and the whole stadium just groaned in frustration.
That early scare pushed the Netherlands to play even more cautiously, almost too cautious at times, keeping the ball but doing very little that looked dangerous.
And that approach eventually cost them. Just before the break, Poland hit them with a sharp counter. Jakub Kamiński carried the ball forward and slipped it to Robert Lewandowski, who held off his marker, spun brilliantly, and threaded a perfect through ball back to Kamiński.
The winger kept his cool and slid it under Bart Verbruggen, sending the crowd bouncing into halftime feeling like they were worth, as people say there, a million złoty.
But whatever momentum Poland had didn’t last long. Right after the interval, Kamil Grabara made a terrific save from Donyell Malen’s header, only for the rebound to fall straight into the path of Memphis Depay, who recently broke the Netherlands assist record, as reported by softfootball. He didn’t hesitate for a second and smashed home his eighth goal of this qualifying run.
Poland, to be fair, responded well. They created a handful of chances, including another Lewandowski effort that took a deflection just over the bar. They pushed until the last ten minutes, when Skóraś almost nicked it before Verbruggen denied him with a sharp stop.
After that, though, the Netherlands managed to settle things down and see out a draw, just like in the previous fixture, which also ended 1-1.
In the bigger picture, this single point almost certainly sends Ronald Koeman’s side to North America next summer unless something truly bizarre happens against Lithuania on Monday.
For Poland, the dream of reaching a third straight World Cup isn’t gone yet, but it now runs straight through the pressure-filled play-offs, and their supporters won’t accept anything less than making it there.
