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Scouting
Report
Style of play: Polish coach Jerzy Engel usually
plays with a traditional 4-4-2 formation - with a flat-back
four - and favours an attacking approach. Poland's scoring
chances are created by its wingers, who carry the ball
while making darting runs down the flanks. Once the
wingers have the goal in their sight, they send dangerous,
high crosses into the penalty area where the forwards
use their height to beat defenders to the ball. The
forwards, playing as outright strikers, rely on service
from the wingers, as the two centre-midfielders take
up holding positions in the middle of the pitch and
drop back in defence to mark opposing forwards. There's
little individualistic play on Poland, which executes
as a team with the contributions of every player vital
to the side's success.
Strengths:
Goalkeeping -- Jerzy Dudek is a brilliant shot-stopper
who is capable of single-handedly keeping his team in
games with his amazing saves. Very athletic and agile,
he is very strong coming off his line, and when he's
on, provides Poland with an impregnable last wall of
defence.
Strong defence -- Poland features a tight-knit
defence, anchored by experienced centre-fullbacks Tomasz
Hajto and Tomasz Waldoch. Right-back Tomasz Klos is
equally impressive in defending as he is moving forward
with the ball.
A kind draw -- South Korea have never won a game
in its previous five World Cup appearances, suffering
10 losses and managing a meagre four draws. The U.S.
doesn't have the pedigree or the skill to compete with
Poland, which gives the Poles the edge in the battle
for second place behind Portugal in Group D.
Weaknesses:
Untested in qualifying -- Poland had an easy
qualifying route to the World Cup, topping a group that
included such minnows as Belarus, Wales and Armenia.
Poland might come to regret that lack of competition
once they are thrown against the much stronger field
at the World Cup tournament itself.
Attacking options -- Forward Emmanuel Olisadebe
scored eight of Poland's 21 goals during qualification
and is the only dangerous goal-scoring threat for the
Poles. If defenders are able to contain him, Poland
doesn't have any other attacker who can step up and
score with regularity.
Midfield creativity -- Aside from Piotr Swierczewski,
Poland lacks playmaking creativity in midfield. They
have a surplus of defensive midfielders and tenacious
ball-winners, but not enough inspiring players with
vision and artistry who can break a game wide open.
Key injuries/squad omissions:
Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek is just recovering from a knee
injury, but will be ready to start for Poland in between
the posts…. Winger Bartosz Karwan will not make
the trip to South Korea after failing to recover from
a calf injury….
Outlook:
Poland was one of the dominant soccer powers in the
world from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. Now, appearing
in its first World Cup since 1986, Poland will be looking
to reclaim its place in international soccer with the
whole world watching. Portugal, ranked fifth in the
world by FIFA, are too good to allow Poland to challenge
for first place in Group D. But despite the home advantage,
South Korea will be easily overmatched in all of its
matches, leaving the door open for Poland or the U.S.
to finish in second place. The U.S. will be tough opponents,
but Poland is hungrier and should defeat the Americans
on its way to earning a berth in the second round.
The
Country
Location: Central Europe, east of Germany
Capital: Warsaw
Area: 312,685 sq km
Population: 38,646,023 (July 2000 est.)
Government type: Republic
Climate: Temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately
severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers
with frequent showers and thundershowers.
Ethnic groups: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian
0.6%, Byelorussian 0.5%.
Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing),
Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%.
Languages: Polish
History: Poland gained its independence in 1918,
but was occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union in
World War II. It became a Soviet satellite country after
the war. "Solidarity," an independent trade
union formed in 1980 in the face of labour unrest and
eventually became a major political party. By 1990 "Solidarity"
swept parliamentary elections and the presidency, and
complete freedom came when the Soviet Union dissolved
in 1991. Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999.
The Community in Canada
The Polish community is large and thriving several Canadian cities. Poles have arrived in different waves at different times to different parts of the country since the late 1800s, some of them becoming Canadian icons. The founder of the Niagara Parks Commission, engineer of the International Bridge and a founder of the Grand Trunk Railway was Sir Casimir Gzowski. His great grandson was another beloved Canadian, CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski.
In all, there are some 250,000 Polish-Canadians. Close to half of those are in the greater Toronto area, many in the vibrant community centring on Roncesvalles and Queen St.
It's been 16 years since the last time Poland qualified for the World Cup, and while many are putting on a brave face, hopes are not high.
Wojtek Sniegowski is a Polish community leader and host producer of Z Ukoza, a Polish language current affairs programme on multi-cultural television network CFMT. He says that many Polish fans observed that the wind kind of went out of the Polish team's sails immediately after qualifying.
"It seems like their heart just isn't in it," he said.
This compared to the spirited high-performance team of 1986. By Sniegowski's estimation, "Even the best players playing in the western European leagues aren't showing good form."
The key may be the goalkeeper - the very solid Jerzy Dudek, who plays for Liverpool and may be the best Polish player.
For that reason alone, Sniegowski expects Polish bars and restaurants to be busy places during the tournament while other businesses see a dip in productivity.
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