UEFA EURO 2016: Poland team preview

The current Poland team is considered by many as the strongest team they’ve had in recent years. Lead by the ultimate goalscorer Robert Lewandowski, Biale Orly (the White Eagles) are capable of competing with any of Europe’s top teams. Yet they are not seemingly thought of as likely winners in France this summer (50/1 with William Hill), but the status of underdogs can remove any pressure and they might just surprise a few. This time around they look to have a real chance of progressing to the latter stages, unlike their two previous Euros (2008, 2012) where they were halted at the group stages.

Robert Lewandowski might be the talisman, but he is not the only Poland player to look out for at the upcoming tournament. Jacub Blaszczykowski, currently at Fiorentina, is also a notable member of this team. He was brilliant while playing in the Bundesliga for Dortmund, as was fellow Polish player Lukasz Piszczek. There is young blood too. Piotr Zielinski is a rising star who looks set to join one of the top European clubs this summer, and Grzegorz Krychowiak is a double Europa League winner with Sevilla. Poland are coming into these finals with several in-form players in their ranks.

Euro 2016 Squad (final 23 yet to be confirmed)

Goalkeepers: Artur Boruc (Bournemouth), Łukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (Roma), Przemysław Tyton (Stuttgart).

Defenders: Thiago Cionek (Palermo), Paweł Dawidowicz (Benfica), Kamil Glik (Torino), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Michał Pazdan (Legia Warsaw), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Bartosz Salamon (Cagliari), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Lechia Gdansk).

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Fiorentina), Kamil Grosicki (Rennes), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Legia Warsaw), Bartosz Kapustka (Cracovia), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Karol Linetty (Lech Poznan), Krzysztof Mączynski (Wisła Krakow), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Filip Starzynski (Zaglebie Lubin), Paweł Wszołek (Verona), Piotr Zielinski (Empoli).

Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Ajax), Artur Sobiech (Hannover), Mariusz Stepinski (Ruch Chorzow).

Key Player: Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski is both the captain of Poland and their most important player. It would be unfair to say otherwise. Roba scored a record-setting 13 goals in ten qualifying games and, at 27 years old, he can be named among the best strikers in Europe. His 42 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich this season also doesn’t read too badly! With 34 for goals so far for his country, he is also no stranger to scoring in big international games and will no doubt have his eye on becoming Poland’s all time leading scorer (record = 48 goals – Wlodzimierz Lubanski). If anyone can break this record it’s likely to be Lewandowski.

https://youtu.be/M5QKjYbnCV4

Qualifying 

Poland were close to leaving behind the Germans in qualifying group D – and by the end of the campaign they were only a single point behind their neighbours. One of Poland’s six victories came against the world champions – a 2:0 win at home. It’s notable that Biale Orly lost only once in that 10-game campaign. Scoring 33 goals – more than any team in the qualifying, and their goal difference (+23) was the second best after England. OK, a lot of those goals came against minnows Gibraltar and Georgia, but every group in qualifying has teams of this nature and they still have to be beaten. Poland proved that they could dismantle poor sides and compete against those at the very top, proving that they are ready for a big tournament.

Group Matches

Poland v Northern Ireland – June 12, 2016

Germany v Poland – June 16, 2016

Ukraine v Poland – June 21, 2016

Click here for the full Euro 2016 match schedule. 

Verdict

It’s no lie that Poland can score goals, and they are fancied to start this tournament full of confidence. Northern Ireland don’t seem to be too solid in defence, despite defending well in qualifying, but they came through a poor group and still required the playoffs. I think we can expect at least two goals from Adam Nawalka’s team in the opener. Over 1.5 goals from Poland in their 1st game looks a good bet at 11/10.

The second bet is evident: at the prices, who’s better to back as top goalscorer than Robert Lewandowski? Over the past year or so he has proven himself as a real threat in and around the box and with the right service he could easily go after the golden boot. Only Muller, Ronaldo and Griezmann are rated as having better chances by William Hill, but it’s too tempting to not go for Lewandowski to become top scorer at a mouthwatering 16/1.