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FIFA World Cup 2018 team analysis: Poland need to show they are more than Lewandowski

FIFA World Cup team analysis: Poland, led by Robert Lewandowski, are expected to qualify to the knockouts from Group H.

Robert Lewandowski goes into the FIFA World Cup as Polands all-time topscorer with 52 goals (Image: Twitter)

Country: Poland

Placed in Group H also featuring Colombia, Senegal and Japan

Fixtures:

Poland vs Senegal, June 19, at 8.30 pm (Moscow Spartak)

Poland vs Colombia, June 24, at 11.30 pm (Kazan)

Japan vs Poland, June 28, at 7.30 pm (Volgograd)

FIFA ranking: 7


Group H analysis</a></strong> | Team-by-team analysis: <strong><a class=Senegal | Colombia | Japan" title="Group H analysis | Team-by-team analysis: Senegal | Colombia | Japan" />Group H analysis | Team-by-team analysis: Senegal | Colombia | Japan


Previous World Cup: Did not qualify

Last appearance: 2006 (eliminated from Group A)

Best finish: Third place in 1974, 1982

Star players: Robert Lewandowski (striker for Bayern Munich), Kamil Glik (defender for AS Monaco), Arkadiusz Milik (striker for Napoli), Wojciech Szczesny (goalkeeper for Juventus)

Coach: Adam Nawalka


Poland are a highly exciting side to watch, especially for their star striker and captain Robert Lewandowski, who pumped in 16 goals during their qualifying campaign.

The European side made most of a loophole in the FIFA ranking system by not playing any friendlies since 2016 to rise to sixth in the rankings (at the time of the draw). This helped them draw a relatively easy group but they will still find games against Colombia and Senegal tricky.

Are they more than Lewandowski?

The big challenge though is that Poland have to prove that they are more than Lewandowski. This is where the role of playmaker Piotr Zielinski comes into play. The 24-year-old Napoli midfielder has combined well with Lewandowski and it will be up to him to provide the slick through balls for his captain in Russia.

Injury-prone Arkadiusz Milik is almost as exciting to watch as Lewandowski. But manager Nawalka's tactics - a 4-2-3-1 formation that presses high - will restrict Milik to appearances off the bench.

Ageing back-four

The four defenders - Lukasz Piszczek, Kamil Glik, Michal Pazdan, Maciej Rybus - are all aged over 30. Age definitely helps in judging the game better, but the full-backs could prove a touch slow against energetic sides like Senegal and Japan.

Balanced midfield

Grzegorz Krychowiak has been a flop for relegated Premier League side West Bromwich Albion this season. Young Karol Linetty, who plays for Sampdoria in the Serie A, has been a revelation and will share the defensive midfield duties with the Krychowiak, a PSG loanee.

The three attacking midfielders (or wingers depending on the formation) Jakub Blaszczykowski (Wolfsburg), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City) also have a good balance of age and experience. Both Blaszczykowski and Grosicki are over 30 but Zielinski is at a ripe age of 24 and will be the man to watch out for apart from Lewandowski.

In the goalkeeping area, Szczesny comes in with tremendous amount of experience, having featured for Roma and Juventus since his departure from Arsenal. While this department is no worry for Poland, all depends on how their defenders cope with technical sides like Colombia.


Prediction:

Poland are expected to qualify to the Round of 16 from Group H. Provided they don't face Belgium in the last-16, they can sneak into the quarterfinals.


Germany</a> | <a class=Mexico | Sweden | South Korea" title="Germany | Mexico | Sweden | South Korea" />Germany | Mexico | Sweden | South Korea

England</a> | <a class=Tunisia | Panama | Belgium" title="England | Tunisia | Panama | Belgium" />England | Tunisia | Panama | Belgium

Story first published: Saturday, June 16, 2018, 0:30 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 16, 2018