A penalty shootout victory in March’s playoff final with Wales saw Poland qualify for Euro 2024, where they have the tag of underdogs in a particularly tough group which includes the Netherlands, Austria, and France.
The coach
Head coach Michał Probierz is still a novice at international level, having taken the role in September of last year. However, he has fulfilled his short-term mandate of steadying the ship and qualifying Poland to the championships.
Poland only qualified by the skin of their teeth, after limping through a fairly mediocre group and narrowly edging out Wales on penalties in the playoff final.
While many players were culpable, the majority of the blame for the underwhelming qualification campaign has to be laid at the door of former coach Fernando Santos.
Head coach Michał Probierz is still a novice at international level, having taken the role in September of last year. However, he has fulfilled his short-term mandate of steadying the ship and qualifying Poland to the championships.
Poland only qualified by the skin of their teeth, after limping through a fairly mediocre group and narrowly edging out Wales on penalties in the playoff final.
While many players were culpable, the majority of the blame for the underwhelming qualification campaign has to be laid at the door of former coach Fernando Santos.
The Portuguese oversaw damaging defeats to Czech Republic, Albania, and Moldova - the lowest-ranked team to ever beat Poland.
Santos understandably came in for heavy criticism from fans and media, not just for the team's unsatisfactory results but also for the style of play he implemented and his commitment.
Although the decision of president of the Polish FA (PZPN), Cezary Kulesza to appoint Santos and give him a huge salary is arguably closer to the root of the problem.
The subsequent appointment of Probierz, was from much a Kulesza decision. The two of them previously enjoyed a fruitful working relationship at Jagiellonia Białystok when Kulesza was president of the recently crowned Ekstraklasa champions.
Strategy
In recent major tournaments coaches have tried and largely failed to construct a team that optimizes their most creative midfielder Piotr Zieliński and star striker Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski recently suffered a tear in the biceps femoris muscle, ruling him out of the first and possibly second match. Poland will be forced to think differently, particularly with the absence through injury of Juventus forward Arkadiusz Milik, who is the closest thing to a like-for-like replacement for Lewandowski.
The lack of their iconic number nine has the potential, however, to help solve Poland’s biggest issue going forward, their predictability.
Probierz may feel he cannot trust backup strikers Adam Buksa or Krzysztof Piątek to fill the void and that would likely push him to opt for a new formation.
He has so far been wedded to a 3-5-2 which places a lot of onus on the wing-backs, Frankowski and Zalewski, arguably Poland’s best players in the play offs and recent friendlies.
Above all, Probierz needs to find a way to get his players higher up the pitch in support of the strikers without compromising defensive stability too much.
Key players
With Poland mostly under the cosh throughout their World Cup 2022 campaign, it is hardly surprising that Wojciech Szczęsny was their outstanding individual. The Juventus number will have to reach similar heights if Poland are to progress.
Arsenal’s center-back come full-back Jakub Kiwior has had a decent season and is now the key figure in the Polish defense, with his superior ball-playing ability, attacks tending to start from his left flank.
The aforementioned Zieliński has tended to struggle at major tournaments. Having grown accustomed to being surrounded by highly technical players at Napoli, Zieliński has rarely managed to replicate the type of inter play he is capable of, when partnered with more workman-like midfielders for the national team.
Santos understandably came in for heavy criticism from fans and media, not just for the team's unsatisfactory results but also for the style of play he implemented and his commitment.
Although the decision of president of the Polish FA (PZPN), Cezary Kulesza to appoint Santos and give him a huge salary is arguably closer to the root of the problem.
The subsequent appointment of Probierz, was from much a Kulesza decision. The two of them previously enjoyed a fruitful working relationship at Jagiellonia Białystok when Kulesza was president of the recently crowned Ekstraklasa champions.
Strategy
In recent major tournaments coaches have tried and largely failed to construct a team that optimizes their most creative midfielder Piotr Zieliński and star striker Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski recently suffered a tear in the biceps femoris muscle, ruling him out of the first and possibly second match. Poland will be forced to think differently, particularly with the absence through injury of Juventus forward Arkadiusz Milik, who is the closest thing to a like-for-like replacement for Lewandowski.
The lack of their iconic number nine has the potential, however, to help solve Poland’s biggest issue going forward, their predictability.
Probierz may feel he cannot trust backup strikers Adam Buksa or Krzysztof Piątek to fill the void and that would likely push him to opt for a new formation.
He has so far been wedded to a 3-5-2 which places a lot of onus on the wing-backs, Frankowski and Zalewski, arguably Poland’s best players in the play offs and recent friendlies.
Above all, Probierz needs to find a way to get his players higher up the pitch in support of the strikers without compromising defensive stability too much.
Key players
With Poland mostly under the cosh throughout their World Cup 2022 campaign, it is hardly surprising that Wojciech Szczęsny was their outstanding individual. The Juventus number will have to reach similar heights if Poland are to progress.
Arsenal’s center-back come full-back Jakub Kiwior has had a decent season and is now the key figure in the Polish defense, with his superior ball-playing ability, attacks tending to start from his left flank.
The aforementioned Zieliński has tended to struggle at major tournaments. Having grown accustomed to being surrounded by highly technical players at Napoli, Zieliński has rarely managed to replicate the type of inter play he is capable of, when partnered with more workman-like midfielders for the national team.
If he is given the freedom to operate between the lines though he has the ability to provide the creativity the side is yearning for.
Group D opponents
Poland start their campaign with a tough test against the Netherlands in Hamburg on Sunday. In Van Dijk, Ake, and Van der Ven they have some of Europe’s best defenders and will likely match Poland’s three-man-defense. Although their prospects will be blunted slightly by the absence of Barcelona’s De Jong in midfield and forward Depay’s ability to create something out of nothing.
On July 21, the Poles face Austria, one of the most in-form and dynamic teams on the international stage. They will be without captain and key man David Alaba. However, the Austrians under Ralf Rangnick, who was wanted by Bayern Munich at the end of the season, play like a stereotypical Bundesliga, with high pressing and quick transitions.
It is a high-risk, high-reward approach that will leave spaces in behind their defense, which could make the pace of Karol Swiderski of key importance.
Poland will be hoping they have points on the board before they play World Cup finalists France on July 25. The French have the most complete squad and arguably the strongest starting XI of all teams competing at the Euros. The in-form attacking quartet of Griezmann, Mbappé, Thuram, and Dembele represent the most formidable opposition in the group.
Ukraine
The Ukrainians enter the tournament with optimism and with many pundits tipping them as dark horses, partly because of their favorable draw (their group includes Belgium, Romania, and Slovakia) but mainly due to their exciting crop of players.
They are currently experiencing what could be described as a golden generation with much of their starting XI playing in Europe’s top leagues.
That starting XI is also nicely balanced, particularly in attack with the front three of Artem Dovbyk (top scorer in Spain’s La Liga) leading the line and Viktor Tsyhankov and Mykhailo Mudryk cutting in from the flanks.
Group D opponents
Poland start their campaign with a tough test against the Netherlands in Hamburg on Sunday. In Van Dijk, Ake, and Van der Ven they have some of Europe’s best defenders and will likely match Poland’s three-man-defense. Although their prospects will be blunted slightly by the absence of Barcelona’s De Jong in midfield and forward Depay’s ability to create something out of nothing.
On July 21, the Poles face Austria, one of the most in-form and dynamic teams on the international stage. They will be without captain and key man David Alaba. However, the Austrians under Ralf Rangnick, who was wanted by Bayern Munich at the end of the season, play like a stereotypical Bundesliga, with high pressing and quick transitions.
It is a high-risk, high-reward approach that will leave spaces in behind their defense, which could make the pace of Karol Swiderski of key importance.
Poland will be hoping they have points on the board before they play World Cup finalists France on July 25. The French have the most complete squad and arguably the strongest starting XI of all teams competing at the Euros. The in-form attacking quartet of Griezmann, Mbappé, Thuram, and Dembele represent the most formidable opposition in the group.
Ukraine
The Ukrainians enter the tournament with optimism and with many pundits tipping them as dark horses, partly because of their favorable draw (their group includes Belgium, Romania, and Slovakia) but mainly due to their exciting crop of players.
They are currently experiencing what could be described as a golden generation with much of their starting XI playing in Europe’s top leagues.
That starting XI is also nicely balanced, particularly in attack with the front three of Artem Dovbyk (top scorer in Spain’s La Liga) leading the line and Viktor Tsyhankov and Mykhailo Mudryk cutting in from the flanks.
They performed admirably in the qualifiers after being pitted in a tough group against England and Italy, finishing narrowly behind the latter. They showed a strong mentality in the playoff matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
Recent outings at major tournaments have seen them depart without making much of an impression. Given they now possess flair, cutting edge, and tactically flexible coach in Sergei Rebrov, they could really leave their mark on this tournament.
Slovakia
If Ukraine are blessed with a wealth of talent from Europe’s top leagues and Poland have a smattering, then Slovakia are at the other end of the spectrum.
However, under the tactically astute Italian coach Francesco Calzona they are a tough nut to crack with plenty of experience, albeit mostly not at the highest level, they are the oldest squad at the Euros.
Slovakians will be hoping their impressive coach has not taken his eye off the ball in the build up to this tournament after being appointed interim head coach for Serie A giants Napoli for the latter stages of the season.
If they are to get out of group E, much will depend on the team’s spine. Martin Dubravka of Newcastle in goal is dependable. PSG’s powerful center-back Milan Škriniar will marshal the back four. Midfield linchpin (and another Napoli connection) Stanislav Lobotka will seek to dictate the flow of the match.
The sharp end of the pitch, however, might be the Slovaks undoing, with Róbert Boženík likely to spearhead the attack, bluntness may be an issue.
Czech Republic
Just across the border, Slovakia’s coach Calzona limited his preparation time by taking the Napoli job for the tail end of the season but the Czech’s head coach Ivan Hasek will have even less time, having only been appointed in March.
Despite a relatively successful stint Jaroslav Šilhavý was fired after his ideas and style of play were considered stale. Šilhavý’s pragmatic approach was sufficient to finish level on points with Albania and four ahead of Poland in the qualification group.
Aside from Portugal, the Czechs should not approach group F with too much trepidation. Turkey, boosted by support from large numbers of Turkish ex-patriots in Germany and Georgia in their first major tournament, will be eager to prove themselves but are not formidable opponents. Perhaps the advantage this modestly talented squad has now is their unpredictableness. The most suitable formation and strongest starting XI is very much up for debate.
The few certainties are West Ham’s Tomáš Souček leading the team from midfield and Bayer Leverkusen’s highly talented striker Patrik Schick who will both carry the most goal threat and inspiration.
Recent outings at major tournaments have seen them depart without making much of an impression. Given they now possess flair, cutting edge, and tactically flexible coach in Sergei Rebrov, they could really leave their mark on this tournament.
Slovakia
If Ukraine are blessed with a wealth of talent from Europe’s top leagues and Poland have a smattering, then Slovakia are at the other end of the spectrum.
However, under the tactically astute Italian coach Francesco Calzona they are a tough nut to crack with plenty of experience, albeit mostly not at the highest level, they are the oldest squad at the Euros.
Slovakians will be hoping their impressive coach has not taken his eye off the ball in the build up to this tournament after being appointed interim head coach for Serie A giants Napoli for the latter stages of the season.
If they are to get out of group E, much will depend on the team’s spine. Martin Dubravka of Newcastle in goal is dependable. PSG’s powerful center-back Milan Škriniar will marshal the back four. Midfield linchpin (and another Napoli connection) Stanislav Lobotka will seek to dictate the flow of the match.
The sharp end of the pitch, however, might be the Slovaks undoing, with Róbert Boženík likely to spearhead the attack, bluntness may be an issue.
Czech Republic
Just across the border, Slovakia’s coach Calzona limited his preparation time by taking the Napoli job for the tail end of the season but the Czech’s head coach Ivan Hasek will have even less time, having only been appointed in March.
Despite a relatively successful stint Jaroslav Šilhavý was fired after his ideas and style of play were considered stale. Šilhavý’s pragmatic approach was sufficient to finish level on points with Albania and four ahead of Poland in the qualification group.
Aside from Portugal, the Czechs should not approach group F with too much trepidation. Turkey, boosted by support from large numbers of Turkish ex-patriots in Germany and Georgia in their first major tournament, will be eager to prove themselves but are not formidable opponents. Perhaps the advantage this modestly talented squad has now is their unpredictableness. The most suitable formation and strongest starting XI is very much up for debate.
The few certainties are West Ham’s Tomáš Souček leading the team from midfield and Bayer Leverkusen’s highly talented striker Patrik Schick who will both carry the most goal threat and inspiration.
Source: TVP World, Flashscore, Goal, The Guardian
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