Euro 2020 Preview - Poland

[Dave]

Poland

Poland will be very happy with the group they've been drawn in and will believe they're capable of having one of their most successful campaigns yet.

 

 

Road to Euro 2020
Poland finished in first place in their qualifying group. They recorded eight wins, one loss and one draw. In six of their qualifying games they registered two or more goals and remained defensively solid by keeping seven clean sheets and conceded just five games. These impressive results emphasise that they will be a team to watch with intrigue during this tournament.

 

What to Expect
During qualification, Poland adapted a very central focused style of play despite opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation. This included playing two defensive midfielders that anchored the team in-front of the back four which allowed the attacking midfielders the freedom to press forward and assist the goal scoring prowess of the legend that is Robert Lewandowski. Under Paulo Sousa however, the team have began playing with three defenders, wing backs and two forwards. This has not been particularly successful, with their only recent victory occurring against Andorra when they reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Possible Lineup
Poland are one of the few countries that head into Euro 2020 that have a debate over who their best goalkeeper is. Wojciech Szczesny is likely to keep his place in goal despite the pressure on him to be replaced by Lukasz Fabianski.

Based on previous results we wouldn't be surprised to see Paulo Sousa revert back to a 4-2-3-1 formation. However, given this would mean that Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik not having a likely role to play in the system we believe that he will persist with a 3-4-1-2 formation. If this is happening we expect Jan Bednarek and Michal Helik to start alongside the experienced Kamil Gilk. Regardless of what formation is deployed, Bartosz Bereszynski appears to be a regular starter on the right side of defence. The left sided position appears to be less clear but we believe Arkadiusz Reca will start ahead of Maciej Rybus.

In the centre of midfield one player whose position appears certain is Grzegorz Krychowiak. The player alongside him appears more difficult to call but we believe that the recent performances at international level by Jakub Moder will be enough to convince Paulo Sousa that he should start in midfield. Piotr Zielinski appears most likely to start in the advanced central midfield role just behind the two chosen forwards.

Arkadiusz Milik is likely to start alongside Robert Lewandowski as Krzysztof Piatek has been ruled out of the competition due to an ankle injury.

 

Key Player
He's Poland's top international scorer, he's Poland's most-capped player of all time and he's widely considered as Poland's greatest ever player. This was a rather easy given the impact Robert Lewandowski has had on both his country and in domestic football. The Bayern striker was recently voted for FIFA’s Best Men’s Player for 2020, and he’s also won Polish Footballer of the Year nine times in the last ten years. To be blunt, nobody else even comes close. This was further emphasised when Jerzy Brzeczek was replaced as coach by Paulo Sousa following a reported breakdown between the coach and Poland's star man.

 

Prediction
We expect Poland to advance from this group. They do however lack the squad depth in comparison to the bigger teams in this tournament which is likely to cause problems as the tournament progresses.

[Azeem]

Lewangoalski to shine