Poland Team Page
Squad
Coach: Michal Globisz
Roster
Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski, Wojciech Szczesny, Przemyslaw Tyton
Defenders: Maciej Dabrowski, Adam Danch, Jaroslaw Fojut, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Adrian Marek, Damian Raczka, Ben Starosta, Krysztof Strugarek, Jakub Szalek
Midfielders: Tomasz Cywka, Jakub Feter, Artur Marciniak, Mariusz Sacha
Forwards: Pawel Adamiec, Dawid Janczyk, Lukasz Janoszka, Krzysztof Krol, Patryk Malecki
Scouting Report
Strengths: Scoring goals shouldn't be a problem for Poland. With Dawid Janczyk, dubbed the "Polish Wayne Rooney," Poland will cause opponents plenty of problems in the attacking third of the field. Michal Globisz has been a coach in the Polish youth system for over a decade and he has a wealth of experience, including leading the Poles to victory at the 2001 UEFA U-18 Championship.
Weaknesses: Inexperience is an issue for the Poles, who last qualified for this tournament in 1983. Poland is also coming off a lacklustre performance at last year's UEFA U-19 Championship (losing two of its three games). Jaroslaw Fojut is a capable defender, but the rest of Poland's defenders aren't up to scratch. Being drawn into a group with Brazil and the U.S. will also make life difficult for Poland.
Player to watch: Dawid Janczyk is a talented striker who signed with Polish club Legia Warszawa in 2005 and has also had a great deal of success representing Poland at the junior level, with one of the highlights being his hat-trick against Belgium at the 2006 UEFA U-19 Championship. Janczyk is already drawing comparisons with former Juventus star and Polish national team legend Zbigniew Boniek.
Prognosis: It's been a while since Poland last played in this tournament, and the Eastern European nation is eager to prove that it belongs at the dinner table with the rest of the adults. In Janczyk, Poland has one of the best strikers in the tournament, but will his goals be enough to secure the Poles' passage into the second round? With Brazil and the United States, two of the pre-tournament favourites in their group, Poland has its work cut out for itself, although a spot in the round of 16 as one of the four third-place teams is possible. Poland would have to beat South Korea, though, and it's hard to imagine the Poles being able to contain the speedy Koreans, who have been a mainstay of this competition for years.
ROAD TO THE U-20 WORLD CUP
2007 qualification route:
Qualifying record: 3 games played, 1 win, 2 losses, 0 draws
Goals for: 4 Goals against: 4
Top goal-scorer in qualifying: Dawid Janczyk (3)
Qualifying results:
UEFA European U-19 Football Championship 2006 group finals (group A) – all games in Poland
July 18, 2006 – Poland 0, Austria 1
July 20, 2006 – Poland 4, Belgium 1
July 23, 2006 – Czech Republic 2, Poland 0
U-20 World Cup 1st round matches (all times local)
June 30 vs. Brazil in Montreal (Olympic Stadium) at 14:15
July 3 vs. USA in Montreal (Olympic Stadium) at 17:00
July 6 vs. South Korea in Montreal (Olympic Stadium) at 19:45
U-20 WORLD CUP HISTORY
Poland will be returning to the U-20 World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Poland has reached the semifinals of the tournament twice: in 1979 (fourth place) and 1983 (third place). It also qualified for the 1981 tournament, but was sent packing after the first round.
Number of previous U-20 World Cup Appearances: 3
All-time record: 15 games played, 8 wins, 0 draws, 7 losses
Goals for: 27 Goals against: 15
Biggest victory: 6-0 vs. Indonesia in 1979
Biggest defeat: 1-3 vs. Uruguay in 1983
Hosted the U-20 World Cup: never
1977 – Did not qualify
1979 – Semifinals (4th place)
1981 – First round
1983 – Semifinals (3rd place)
1985 to 2005 – Did not qualify
