The summer 2026 World Cup qualifying schedule is drawing to a close, with the top two teams in Group G set to meet on Tuesday, with second-placed Finland hosting leaders Poland in Helsinki. Although Finland lost at home to the Netherlands last weekend, their Polish team tops the group with the highest points from the two games so far.

Ranked 69th in the world, Finland is bidding to qualify for its 19th World Cup and, with the tournament expanding to 48 teams next summer, they dream of finally reaching the global finals - but will have to finish in the top two of Group G. Results have been mixed so far under new coach Jacob Frith, who replaced Marku Kanerva earlier this year after the Eagles were relegated from the UEFA Nations League B.

They have picked up four points from their first two qualifiers, with Oliver Antmann scoring the only goal of the game in the opener against Malta before drawing with Lithuania after leading by two goals. As a result, they are in second place ahead of Saturday's home game against the Netherlands, which predictably went in the direction of the higher-ranked Dutch; Finland fell behind by a goal in six minutes and never really recovered, ultimately losing 2-0.

Finland finished third in their group, missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by just one point. Finland could face the same fate this time around, as Poland and the Netherlands are likely to battle it out for first place. Another loss on Tuesday would undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to their hopes, and it's been 19 years since they last beat Poland. In fact, Poland have conceded 10 goals in the last two meetings - although those were both friendlies, five and nine years ago respectively.

Poland have started strongly against their hosts, having picked up just six points from their first two qualifiers, shaking off a five-game losing streak that saw them relegated from the Nations League. In March, the Eagles beat Lithuania and Malta 1-0 and 2-0 respectively, keeping their first clean sheet in a year and moving ahead of the standings while their Dutch opponents are busy competing in the knockout stages of the UEFA Nations League. With these wins, Poland is two points ahead of second-placed Finland and three points ahead of the Netherlands, who have played one less game than Poland, whose ultimate goal is to reach the 10th World Cup.

Michal Probierz recently led his team to a three-game winning streak by defeating Moldova in a friendly on Friday night, with Matti Cash and Bartosz Slizi scoring in both the first and second halves at the Silesian Stadium. Four days later, they will return to the game in Finland, and another win will put pressure on their rivals to go directly to next year's final.

Finland predicted starting lineup:

Hradecky; Alho, Tanho, Ivanov, Uronen; Kamara, Kailinen; Rod, Jansen, Ant-Man; Pohjanpalo

Poland predicted starting lineup:

Skorupski; Wietska, Bednarek, Kivior; Cash, Model, Zielinski, Szymanski, Zalewski; Piatek Swiderski