Poland came from behind to hand Wales a defeat in their opening Nations League League A game, in what was a good outing ahead of their World Cup qualifying final against either Scotland or Ukraine, which will be determined on Wednesday evening.

In a game generally lacking in quality, wantaway Bayern star Robert Lewandowski went closest in the first half, seeing his effort saved well by Danny Ward. And that save looked as though it was to prove crucial minutes into the second 45, when Jonny Williams fired in the opening goal, handing Wales the advantage in the game.

Poland pushed on, however, and punished a weakened Wales side, capitalising on two mistakes from Rob Page’s side. First, substitute Jakub Kaminski was not closed down before he could rifle home from 14 yards out. Then, in the dying minutes of the encounter, a deflected Robert Lewandowski shot from a sloppy turnover was bundled home by substitute Karol Swiderski.

It leaves Poland to take the early lead in a Nations League group that also contains Belgium and the Netherlands.

Player ratings

Poland

Kamil Grabara – 6

Could not do anything about the opening goal, and was otherwise largely untested.

Bartosz Bereszynski – 5

Rabbi Matondo’s introduction made an otherwise quiet evening somewhat tricky. Picked up a yellow card for his troubles.

Kamil Glik – 6

Kept Moore quiet in the first half but, like his fellow defenders, struggled against the pace of Dan James.

Jan Bednarek – 6

Solid but unspectacular. Struggled at times against the pace of Dan James.

Tymoteusz Puchacz – 6

Grabbed an assist for the opening goal and was bright down the right flank.

Mateusz Kich – 6

The Leeds man was industrious for an hour before being replaced.

Gregor Krychowiak – 6

Battled well in the midfield for the Poles.

Jacek Goralski – 5

Avoided the usual booking but did little to further his claims to a spot in the side. Was taken off after an hour.

Piotr Zielinski – 6

The Napoli man was unable to find Lewandowski enough, but was otherwise solid.

Adam Buksa – 5

Was quiet alongside Lewandowski, and was taken off early in the second half.

Robert Lewandowski – 5

Showed plenty of his talent right up to in front of goal, where he was unusually wasteful.

Subs

Jakub Kaminski – 7

Came on and injected some much needed impetus into the game, firing his side level midway through the second half.

Szymon Zurkowski – 6

Energetic but ultimately made little impact on the ball.

Kamil Grosicki – N/A

Was only on the pitch for the final 10 minutes.

Karol Swiderski – 7

Was not on the pitch for long but was in the right place at the right time to bundle home the winner.

Nicola Zalewski – 6

Did little of note when he was introduced.

Wales

Danny Ward – 6

Began shakily but made a key save to deny Robert Lewandowski midway through the first half. Was taken off at half time.

Chris Gunter – 6

Doesn’t have a club at present but didn’t let that stop him showing clubs what they may be missing out on. Will have done his chances of a contract no harm at all.

Chris Mepham – 6

Looked solid for the majority of the encounter, but will rue the

Rhys Norrington-Davies – 6

A yellow card overshadowed an otherwise impressive performance from the 23-year-old.

Matthew Smith – 5

Was hard-working as expected but ultimately lacked composure in the crucial moment when he fired over from 14 yards.

Dylan Levitt – 6

Didn’t look at all out of place on the biggest stage.

Joe Morrell – 5

Solid but unspectacular for his side.

Jonathan Wiliams – 7

Was ineffective for much of the first half but opened the scoring five minutes into the second with a strike from 25 yards.

Dan James – 7

Was a constant threat in the first half with his pace in behind the Poland defence. Taken off at halftime, to the relief of the opposition.

Kieffer Moore – 6

Used his body well but was largely ineffective in the final third.

Wes Burns – 7

A strong debut for the 27 year old Cardiff man, who staked his claim for the weekend’s clash in style.

Subs:

Wayne Hennessy – 6

Could do nothing about either goal.

Rabbi Matondo – 7

Is clearly talented and was confident on the ball, only for his feet to fall behind his brain a little too often. Gave the ball away for the second goal

Mark Harris – 6

Did little of note when he came on.

Neco Williams – 5

The Liverpool man shot over late on and added little to the Wales performance.

Sorba Thomas – 6

A defeated playoff finalist just four days ago, Thomas showed few signs of hangover in his short cameo.

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