Call Ups For The Qualifiers Against Northern Ireland And San Marino. Ireneusz Jelen And Marek Saganowski Strengthen Our Striking Force.

Contrary to what he said lately, Leo Beenhakker decided to include some surprises in Poland’s squad for the World Cup qualifying games against Northern Ireland and San Marino. Ireneusz Jelen has been called for the first time since summer 2008 and Marek Saganowski returns to the squad after he was disposed of after the initial qualifying games against Slovenia and San Marino. Both players are in good form and should add various new tactical possibilities. Apart from Jelen and Sagan, there are no further surprises, all regular performers were called up again.

Goalkeepers: Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow), Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal), Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United)

Defenders: Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan), Marcin Wasilewski (RSC Anderlecht), Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre), Adam Kokoszka (FC Empoli), Bartosz Bosacki (Lech Poznan), Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos), Marcin Komorowski (Legia Warsaw)

Midfielders: Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk), Lukasz Tralka (Polonia Warsaw), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan), Roger Guerrreiro (Legia Warsaw), Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96), Euzebiusz Smolarek (Bolton Wanderers)

Strikers: Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan), Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow), Marek Saganowski (Southampton FC), Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)

Backups: Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw), Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw), Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan), Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan), Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow), Lukasz Sosin (Anorthossis Famagusta)

Analysis: Twenty three players were called up, which gives us two players for each position (plus three goalkeepers). Let’s have a look at what’s on Leo’s mind.

Goalkeepers: We’ve got two leading keepers and a third goalie in Lukasz Zaluska. Artur Boruc has much bigger chances of playing in the qualifiers, simply because he plays regularly for Celtic and slowly returns to his normal, high form. Moreover, Boruc’s experience of playing in Britain may be useful against Northern Ireland (whose style is similar to SPL teams). Lukasz Fabianski only warms the bench at Arsenal and playing him against Irish strikers may prove too big a risk. I don’t think Leo will take it.

Defenders: The situation is rather clear here, we’ve got starters and their backups. At the moment our defensive line consists of Wawrzyniak, Dudka, Zewlakow and Wasilewski. All played rather regularly in the last month and only injuries can eliminate them from the game against the Irish (three of them started against Ireland, four started against Wales). Wojtkowiak and Komorowski are our backup full backs who may get a chance against San Marino. In Bartosz Bosacki we have an experienced backup central defender, in Adam Kokoszka we have a young one. The latter didn’t play in Empoli’s two last games because of an injury but I trust that if he’s called up it means he’ll be fit when the game against Northern Ireland comes. If not, we’ve got Tomasz Jodlowiec on the backup list.

Midfielders: There are no players to rival Mariusz Lewandowski and Rafal Murawski for the starting spots at central midfielder positions. Lukasz Tralka is too inexperienced, he’s never even played in an European competition. Starting him against Northern Ireland would be a huge risk. To be honest, I’d prefer Tomasz Bandrowski in his place, a player that at least has some Uefa Cup games to his name. I’d feel more confident with him on the bench. Jakub Blaszczykowski’s fitness is one of the factors that may alter our usual starting lineup. He’s to return for Dortmund this weekend, hopefully in the form he presented before the injury. However, we must be prepared for the possibility of Kuba being unable to give his all throughout the whole ninety minutes. That’s why I think it’s so important that Ireneusz Jelen was brought back into the Bialo Czerwoni squad. Jelonek is on fire at the moment; he gives Leo the possibility to play Kuba from the start without fearing for the Dortmund winger’s fitness. In other words, if Kuba is unable to reach his usual highs he can be replaced by the Auxerre striker/winger at any moment without lowering the team’s level of performance. You wouldn’t feel that confident with Wojciech Lobodzinski on the bench. Left wing should be Jacek Krzynowek’s, simply because he plays far more often lately than Ebi Smolarek. Since Leo constantly stresses the fact that keeping possession will be the key to winning against Northern Ireland, I think that Roger will play from the first minute this time. He’s one of our most technically gifted players and shouldn’t panic under Irish pressure. Rafal Boguski is a useful member of the squad, but his performances against Ireland and Wales were far from being perfect. Roger, at the same time, scored twice in those games. The choice is simple for me.

Strikers: Against almost any other team in Europe Pawel Brozek would be a dead cert to start. However, Northern Ireland is one of the most physical teams on the continent and Broziu isn’t what you would call a strongman. At the same time, he managed to put in nice performances against Tottenham so maybe the fear of him being outplayed is unjustified. Robert Lewandowski is a more powerful forward; he started in the last friendly against Wales which means he’s a serious contender for the position of our sole forward. I think Lewy learnt a lot about how to keep and cover the ball in the games against Udinese. Training sessions will probably prove decisive in the Broziu vs. Lewy rivalry. Marek Saganowski may have been called up as a special task force. We may be in need of goal with the whole Irish team in their own penalty box. Sagan’s Championship experience and physical presence may be crucial in such a situation. He may also be useful in case of Bialo Czerwoni defending a lead; he’s one of our most ambitious players and Leo can be sure that he’ll run after each and every ball putting pressure on defenders. All that said, I hope we won’t necessarily have to rely on Sagan to achieve success in the upcoming games.

What’s your tip on how our starting eleven will look like? What do you think will be Jelen’s role in both games?