Points and pride at stake for Poles, Ticos

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HANOVER, June 19 (Reuters) Poland coach Pawel Janas must gamble on whether to save his own career or help kick-start a new era in Polish football, which may not include him, when his country plays Costa Rica in their final group match tomorrow.

The Poles, like their opponents from Central America, are facing the possibility of finishing bottom of Group A and heading home with no points in the bag. Such a result for Poland would almost certainly seal Janas's fate.

Polish soccer chiefs said last week that they will wait until mid-July before deciding on whether to stick with Janas for the European Championship qualifiers.

With their team already knocked out of the World Cup, many coaches would field a second-string team to give some players the chance to play at the finals or to blood future talent.

But, on past evidence, the conservative Polish coach is unlikely to do that and will be going all out to finish the finals on a high in what could be his last game in charge.

''There are a number of variations being tried in training,'' Poland striker, Maciej Zurawski said. ''The coach has 23 players to choose from. For the moment, even we don't know who he will choose. It really does look open.'' Tomorrow's game could also spell the end of Alexandre Guimaraes tenure as Costa Rica coach after leading them to a second successive finals and will definitely be captain Paulo Wanchope's swansong.

Costa Rica's all-time leading scorer has decided to call it a day at 30 after notching 45 goals in 71 appearances.

From a team perspective, it has been a disappointing time for the Ticos in Germany, but on a personal level Wanchope will have enjoyed his two goals against the hosts in the tournament's opening game.

REUTERS