Poland lost 1-2 to Romania in a UEFA Nations League match in Bucharest on Saturday officially ending the team’s hopes of advancing to League A.
The defeat also locked the national team into Pot 3 for the upcoming Euro 2028 qualifying draw.
Just weeks earlier in October, Poland had routed the same opponent 6-0, raising expectations for a routine victory under manager Jan Urban.
Instead, Gheorghe Hagi’s side rallied on home soil to hand the visitors a loss that closed off the playoff path to the top tier, as reported by Interia Sport.
The team has earned four points after five matches in the UEFA Nations League group stage. Before the match in Bucharest, Bosnia and Herzegovina held eight points while Poland had four, leaving the squad with a maximum possible finish of seven points even with a victory in their final fixture.
Euro 2028 qualifying draw
The latest UEFA rankings place Poland in Pot 3 for the Euro 2028 qualifying draw scheduled for December 6 in Belfast, according to Przegląd Sportowy.
This positioning means the squad will face at least two formidable opponents from the top two pots during the qualification phase.
Pot 1 features twelve top-ranked teams from League A, including Spain, France, and England.
Pot 2 contains remaining League A sides and the top performers from League B, creating potential matchups against teams like Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, or Sweden.
The qualification groups will consist of twelve groups of four or five teams each, with twelve group winners and the eight best runners-up earning direct qualification to the tournament. Additional teams will enter a playoff phase, though Poland cannot use the UEFA Nations League path to reach those playoffs.
Potential group pairings range from a difficult group featuring Spain, Turkey, Poland, Finland, and Azerbaijan to a more favorable draw consisting of Greece, Northern Ireland, Poland, San Marino, and Gibraltar.
🚨 EURO 2028 – Qualifying Draw Pots. ✅ 🇸🇪 Sweden confirmed Pot 2! ✅ 🇦🇹 Austria confirmed Pot 2! ✅ 🇭🇺 Hungary confirmed Pot 2! ✅ 🇧🇦 Bosnia confirmed Pot 2! ✅ 🍀 N. Ireland confirmed Pot 2! ✅ 🇵🇱 Poland confirmed Pot 3! ✅ 🇺🇦 Ukraine confirmed Pot 3! pic.twitter.com/kKA9i0LDXj
Past qualifying campaigns show potential for Pot 3 teams
Past qualifying campaigns offer some precedent for overcoming a Pot 3 placement.
Poland also sat in the third pot during qualification for Euro 2016 before securing a spot at the tournament in France, SportoweFakty noted, and similarly reached the tournament in Russia during the qualification cycle for the FIFA World Cup.
During the Euro 2016 qualifiers, the team under Adam Nawałka won its group ahead of Denmark and Romania.
Bogdan Zając, former assistant to manager Adam Nawałka, pointed to the depth of the current generation in comments reported by Sport.pl.
“Now we have the strongest national team in 20 years,” Zając told Interia Sport, highlighting that players feature regularly for clubs in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Poland faces relegation to League C after Sweden match
Beyond missing out on League A, Poland faces the threat of dropping into League C if results break unfavorably in the final round of group fixtures.
A failure to win the upcoming match against Sweden, combined with a Romanian victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, would push the team down.
Urban’s squad hosts Sweden at the Tarczyński Arena in Wrocław on November 17, 2026.
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