Poland-Wales Preview. The Dress Rehearsal.

Are we ready for the encounter against Northern Ireland in the World Cup qualifiers? The best way to learn is to watch tomorrow’s friendly against Wales. This match should clarify our doubts about who’s the nr 1 goalie, who’s our playmaker and if there is any player that can replace Kuba Blaszczykowski on the right wing. Judging from our past matches against Wales it should be an entertaining event.

The game is in the shadow of the latest news about Leo Beenhakker receiving an offer from Feyenoord to be their consultant/sporting director. He asked Grzegorz Lato whether he can help his former employer in his free time. Lato’s answer is no; Leo is now frustrated that the proposal was made public. In my opinion, Leo shouldn’t have even asked about such a possibility. I know that we’re only playing qualifying games in March and friendlies in June, but the manager’s role is to keep track of the players on weekly basis. Leo said that he’s going to be free in April. What does he mean? Shouldn’t he watch the Polish league then and look for players to test in next friendlies? Shouldn’t he watch our youth teams perform? Shouldn’t he visit our players who earn their money abroad? I’m sure that Jean Fernandez would look at Dariusz Dudka differently once Leo visits our defender and shows him his support at Auxerre. Leo says that he’s already got the squad for Northern Ireland in his head. Does it mean that players’ form in the following month doesn’t count? Considering Feyenoord’s offer was a huge mistake from Don Leo. He acted like an amateur here and undermined the belief that fans have in him. That’s the first time I can support Grzegorz Lato in his decision. It is Leo’s role to think how to win the qualifiers for us, not to think how to save Feyenoord from relegation.

To be honest, I don’t like the so called politics of football, I prefer to concentrate on the pure game itself. Let’s return then to the encounter against Wales, shall we? What are we to expect from it? Let’s have a look at the question marks in our team:

Goalkeepers: Boruc or Fabianski? Fabianski or Boruc? Artie’s last game in the national team was the horror against Slovakia. Fabian got the chance to play against Ireland, but didn’t convince entirely. Artie has a below average season for Celtic. Fabian spends his time on Arsenal’s bench. The choice would be simple if Fabianski played regularly for the Gunners. In other words, it is Boruc who should be given a chance to redeem his sins against Wales. Yes, the game against Slovakia was a crucial one, but at the same time it was the only important game where Boruc let us down. I think he deserves another go in the starting lineup, at least for the lack of a better option.

Defenders: Michal Zewlakow finally played full 90 minutes for Olympiakos last weekend and I think he’ll do the same on Wednesday. Dariusz Dudka didn’t play a single game for Auxerre this year, but he can be still considered a starter for Poland. Leo should give him at least 45 minutes to check if we can count on Dudka in the long run; I don’t believe that his situation will change much this season. Adam Kokoszka may act as a future solution since he managed to win a place in Empoli’s starting lineup and claims that he made a big progress there. The best way to check is to watch him against Wales. Jakub Wawrzyniak is the only candidate to occupy the left back spot, he’s on the rise after his transfer to Panathinaikos. The only problem is that he plays there as a centre back. I hope he can switch easily and perform well enough for us to forget about the constant problems at the left back position. Marcin Wasilewski and Grzegorz Wojtkowiak should each get some playing time in the right back spot; I can’t imagine Leo calling up the latter before the all important game against Udinese just to bench him.

Midfielders: Mariusz Lewandowski is experiencing the winter break at the moment, still I expect him to start against Wales. This is the player that Leo builds our midfield line on. Rafal Murawski should partner him in the middle of the pitch and act as a link between the defense and offense. Muras is absolutely crucial in our controlling the middle of the park. Since Leo failed to find any decent new left winger, good old Jacek Krzynowek will earn yet another cap. Judging from his latest interviews, Krzyniu is determined to prove, both for Hannover and Poland, that he’s been written off far too early. His energy level should be very high. Since Kuba Blaszczykowski is out with an injury, we’ve got a problem on the right wing. Wojciech Lobodzinski and Szymon Pawlowski are natural right wingers in the squad, but they both failed to make a good impression against Lithuania. Ebi Smolarek is another option, although he usually plays on the left wing for the national team. Ebi tries to convince everybody that he’s in great shape and the fact that he’s a substitute for Bolton doesn’t have anything to do with his form. In my opinion, Leo will want to judge it first-handedly and start Ebi against Wales. Rafal Boguski is a player that can play both on the wing and in a linkup role. His place in the starting lineup depends on Leo’s decision whether to use a real playmaker or not. Lukasz Gargula and Roger Guerreiro both wait for an opportunity to play behind Pawel Brozek. The Belchatow player has a chance, but Pereiro may have fallen down in the pecking order due to the lack of form he showed against Lithuania. I’d prefer to see Gargula from the start; not because he’s in great form currently, but because he seems the only Polish player that can pose some threat from the set pieces.

Attackers: No need to philosophize here, Pawel Brozek is currently our starting striker. He was the only player that looked in shape against Lithuania and should confirm his status as our main attacking force against Wales. Robert Lewandowski ought to be given at least half an hour to shine.

Poland-Wales (18:00 CET)
Poland’s probable lineup: Boruc- Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Dudka, Wawrzyniak- M.Lewandowski, Murawski- Krzynowek, Smolarek- Boguski- Brozek.

Remember the last games against Wales? They were usually full of thrills. The 2-1 away win in the Engel era was the one that brought us close to the 2002 World Cup. The 3-2 win in 2006 World Cup qualifiers was marked with three goals of extreme beauty from the Bialo Czerwoni. Finally, the last 1-0 win at home almost gave us 2006 WC qualification (we had to wait for results in other groups). I remember watching this last match in Edinburgh, in a local pub that was…full of Poles. Great experience.