While all the talk before Wales’s massive play-off final against Poland this evening is who Page should start in the front three, the visitors will be arriving in Cardiff with their own array of threats.

Poland ran riot against Estonia in their play-off semi-final, dismantling their opponents in a 5-1 home win as the visitors had Maksim Paskotsi sent off after just 27 minutes.

The most remarkable aspect of that game was the lack of Robert Lewandowski on the scoresheet.

The Barcelona striker is his countries’ all-time top scorer and has been one of Europe’s best strikers over the last decade but failed to convert from eight shots on Thursday night.

Lewandowski has 82 goals in 147 games for the national side and will command the attention of the likes of Joe Rodon, Chris Mepham, and Ben Davies.

The Poland captain has not scored against Wales in any his previous three matches but has 16 goals in his last 27 appearances for his country.

Davies spoke yesterday on the prospect of facing one of the world’s best forwards.

“He’s [Lewandowski] one of those strikers where if you give him any sniff of a chance and he can turn it into a goal,” said Davies.

“We’ve got to be fully focused, and really be dialled in to stop him.

“Someone like him has seen it all and scored all types of goals against all types of defenders so he knows what’s expected from him and we know what he’s capable of doing in any moment.

“Tomorrow is a game where we have to focus on ourselves. We have to do our job and we know that we have played against some of the world’s best players in the past and got good results.”

Wales manager Rob Page noted the similarities between Lewandowski and Gareth Bale.

The Polish talisman, who turns 36 during the summer, is looking to lead his country to one last major tournament before retirement, just as Wales’s own all-time top goal scorer did for the 2022 World Cup.

“He’s a fantastic player,” said Page.

“We have to respect [his record] but it stops there. We’ve done some analysis on him, shown the defenders his strengths and weaknesses.

Poland, though, will also be looking to Lewandowski’s supporting cast to provide some inspiration.

Napoli schemer Piotr Zielinski, who will line-up against 19-year-old Jordan James in the midfield, is a hazard with and without the ball.

A mainstay in Napoli’s high-pressing, high-possession system, stopping Zielinski will go a long way to cutting off Lewandowski’s service.

He had an excellent 2023, helping Napoli to their first Serie A title for over 30 years and stopping his captain’s run of eleven straight Polish Footballer of the Year titles with his own win.

To counter the threat posed by Poland’s midfield, Page said the squad have lent on the experience of captain Aaron Ramsey:

“Having people like Rambo in the squad who has been up against experienced players like [Zielinski]. That’s where he can step up and be a help for us off the pitch.

“I’ve got no worries with JJ [Jordan James] and Ethan [Ampadu]. They are so confident, and they will respect what [Poland] are all about.”

Poland most often lineup in a 3-5-2 formation, with Juventus veteran Wojciech Szczesny in goal and Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior in the back three.

Zielinski will most likely partner the inexperienced duo of Bartosz Slisz and Jakub Piotrowski in the middle, while Roma’s Nicola Zalewski will try and cause the moustachioed Connor Roberts problems on the right flank.

At the top end of the of the pitch, Lewandowski will be partnered with Hellas Verona’s Karol Swiderski who has proved to be a useful foil for his captain throughout this campaign.

Poland’s major injury blow is to Aston Villa’s Matty Cash. The Berkshire-born right back came on at halftime against Estonia but only lasted 11 minutes after injuring his hamstring colliding with an advertising hoarding.

Whoever starts for Poland this evening, Page stressed that the match will come down to his Wales side imposing themselves on the contest:

“Individually they [Poland] have got some good players but collectively, as a team, we are more than capable of reaching a level of performance to get the job done.”