Poland (Group B)
Squad | Scouting Report | Road to Euro 2008 | Euro History
| Squad | ||
| Player | Position | Club |
| Artur Boruc | Goalkeeper | Celtic (Scotland) |
| Tomasz Kuszczak | Goalkeeper | Manchester United (England) |
| Lukasz Fabianski | Goalkeeper | Arsenal (England) |
| Michal Zewlakow | Defender | Olympiakos (Greece) |
| Marcin Wasilewski | Defender | Anderlecht (Belgium) |
| Adam Kokoszka | Defender | Wisla Krakow |
| Mariusz Jop | Defender | FK Moscow (Russia) |
| Jacek Bak | Defender | Austria Vienna (Austria) |
| Jakub Wawrzyniak | Defender | Legia Warsaw |
| Pawel Golanski | Defender | Steaua Bucharest (Romania) |
| Mariusz Lewandowski | Midfielder | Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) |
| Dariusz Dudka | Midfielder | Wisla Krakow |
| Rafal Murawski | Midfielder | Lech Poznan |
| Jakub Blaszczykowski | Midfielder | Borussia Dortmund (Germany) |
| Lukasz Gargula | Midfielder | GKS Belchatow |
| Jacek Krzynowek | Midfielder | VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) |
| Michal Pazdan | Midfielder | Gornik Zabrze |
| Roger Guerreiro | Midfielder | Legia Warsaw |
| Euzebiusz Smolarek | Forward | Racing Santande (Spain) |
| Maciej Zurawski | Forward | Larissa (Greece) |
| Marek Saganowski | Forward | Southampton (England) |
| Wojciech Lobodzinski | Forward | Wisla Krakow |
| Tomasz Zahorski | Forward | Gornik Zabrze |
| Head Coach: | Leo Beenhakker | |
Scouting Report
Style of play: Since taking over the team in 2006, Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker has built a Polish side that makes up for its lack of stylish play with hard work, defensive solidity and discipline. Beenhakker switches between three formations – a 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 and 4-3-3 – with the one constant being a four-man defence that concentrates on defending and rarely ventures forward in support of the attack. Maciej Zurawski lines up in the centre of midfield and acts as the team's playmaker and sprays passes to teammates in dangerous positions. He's supported by two defensive midfielder s (Dariusz Dudka and Mariusz Lewandowski) who do the dirty work in the middle and break up the opposition's attack. Beenhakker also looks to his wide midfielders to use their speed down the wings (Jacek Krzynowek on the left, Jakub Blaszczykowski on the right) before delivering the ball into the penalty box. Euzebiusz Smolarek is Poland's main striker and usually plays up front alone or with another striker just behind him in support. Regardless of the formation, Poland strives to retain the ball for as long as possible, making their opponents chase them and then exploit openings at the back.
Probable starting formation (4-5-1): (GK) Boruc - (D) Wasilewski, Bak, Jop, Zewlakow - (M) Blaszczykowski, Dudka, Zurawski, Lewandowski, Krzynowek - (F) Smolarek
Strengths
Momentum and motivation – Poland has plenty of momentum going into the tournament after beating two tough teams, Portugal and Serbia, to win its qualifying group. And after crashing out in the first round of the last two World Cups – and not to mention making their Euro debut in Austria and Switzerland – the Poles have plenty of motivation, too.
Coaching – Poland has an experienced manager in Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, who took over from Pawel Janas after the Poles crashed out in the first round of the 2006 World Cup. Beenhakker has turned the team around since then, and with a proven track record – he won three consecutive league championships at Real Madrid – he has the full respect and confidence of his players.
Tactical flexibility – Thanks to Beenhakker, Poland is not tied to one tactical setup. The Dutchman often switches between a traditional 4-4-2 formation, a defensive 4-5-1, and an attacking 4-3-3, depending on the situation. Poland's ability to adjust and adapt as the game progresses and changes will serve them well.
Weaknesses
Lack of dangerous forwards – Other than Euzebiusz Smolarek, who led the team in scoring during the qualifiers with nine goals, Poland doesn't have another legitimate scoring threat up front. If teams can shut down Smolarek, they will have effectively cut off Poland's main source of goals.
Player inactivity – Coach Beenhakker can call upon several players who play for clubs across Europe. The problem is the majority of them are not regular starters for their teams, and spend most of their time on the bench. Players need to be "match-fit" when Euro starts, and many on Poland's roster won't be.
Tough group – Poland won a tough qualifying that included Portugal and Serbia, but things won't get any easier for the Poles at Euro – they've been drawn into a difficult group that includes Germany (three-time Euro winners and conquerors of Poland at the 2006 World Cup), a strong Croatia team (who ousted England in the qualifiers) and Austria (who have the benefit of home-field advantage.
Players to watch
Artur Boruc – Boruc acts as Poland's last line of defence, earning praise as one of the most unheralded goalkeepers in the world. Noted for his expertise in stopping penalty shots, Boruc is coming off a strong season for Scottish club Celtic, and is being tracked by AC Milan. A strong showing at Euro would convince the Italian giants to make a move for him.
Jacek Krzynowek – A talented left-sided midfielder who is pivotal to the Polish attack, even if he is not a regular starter for his German club, VfL Wolfsburg. Krzynowek offers a wonderful mix of qualities, including a powerful shot, prowess from set pieces, hard work and a delicate touch on the ball.
Euzebiusz Smolarek – Poland's most dangerous scoring threat, Smolarek bagged a team-leading nine goals in the qualifiers, pacing the Poles to a first-place finish ahead of Portugal. Smolarek, who plays in Spain with Racing Santander, also offers Poland a bit of versatility, as he can either play as a forward or on the right side of midfield.
Key injuries/sqaud omissions: Forward Radoslaw Matusiak and left fullback Grzegorz Bronowicki were surprisingly left out of the Poland squad by coach Leo Beenhakker. Also overlooked was veteran playmaker Radoslaw Majewski. Bronowicki and Majewski are just recovering from injury problems, while Matusiak has struggled this season at Wisla Krakow.
Road to Euro 2008
1st round matches:
June 08 vs. Germany (Klagenfurt)
June 12 vs. Austria (Vienna)
June 16 vs. Croatia (Klagenfurt)
Euro 2008 qualification route: Finished first in qualifying Group 1 (28 points) ahead of Portugal (27 points).
Record in qualifying: 8 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses
Goals for: 24
Goals against: 12
Top goal-scorer in qualifying: Euzebiusz Smolarek (9)
Qualifying results:
09.02.2006: Poland 1 - Finland 3
09.06.2006: Poland 1 - Serbia 1
10.07.2006: Poland 1 - Kazakhstan 0
10.11.2006: Poland 2 - Portugal 1
11.15.2006: Poland 1 - Belgium 0
03.24.2007: Poland 5 - Azerbaijan 0
03.28.2007: Poland 1 - Armenia 0
06.02.2007: Poland 3 - Azerbaijan 1
06.06.2007: Poland 0 - Armenia 1
09.08.2007: Poland 2 - Portugal 2
09.12.2007: Poland 0 - Finland 0
10.13.2007: Poland 3 - Kazakhstan 1
11.17.2007: Poland 2 - Belgium 0
11.21.2007: Poland 2 - Serbia 2
Euro History
Number of Previous Euro Appearances: 0
Poland will make its Euro debut in 2008
Legends from the past
Zbigniew Boniek: A key member of the Juventus side that dominated Italian and European soccer in the 1980s. Boniek was also an important member of the national team, scoring a hat trick against Belgium in the 1982 World Cup as he helped Poland finish in third place. Considered one of the greatest Eastern European players of all time.
Grzegorz Lato: Poland's all-time leading scorer in the World Cup with 10 goals in 20 games. Lato was the top scorer at the 1974 World Cup (seven goals) and earned a record 95 caps for Poland, scoring 42 times in international competition. He played in two World Cups (1974 and 1982) before retiring from the national team in 1984.