Time to separate the men from the boys.

So, we’ve got the first draft of how our Euro squad will look like. Leo Beenhakker called up thirty players for the friendly against the USA in Cracow. He still claims that he left all the doors open for the omitted, however it’s hard to imagine any player outside the chosen thirty to entertain us during the Swissaustria tournament.

Here are the players who will probably carry the hopes of a forty million nation (plus fans worldwide):

Goalkeepers:
Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow), Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United), Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)

Defenders:
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht Brussels), Paweł Golanski (Steaua Bucharest), Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow), Jacek Bak (Austria Vienna), Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus), Grzegorz Bronowicki (Red Star Belgrade), Arkadiusz Radomski (Austria Vienna), Marcin Kus (Korona Kielce), Adam Kokoszka (Wisla Cracow), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw)

Midfielders:
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shachtar Donieck), Dariusz Dudka (Wisla Cracow), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznam), Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze), Michal Golinski (Zaglebie Lubin), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Cracow), Lukasz Gargula (GKS Belchatow), Jacek Krzynowek (VfL Wolfsburg), Radoslaw Majewski (Groclin Grodzisk)

Attackers:
Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze), Maciej Zurawski (AE Larissa), Euzebiusz Smolarek (Racing Santander), Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin), Radoslaw Matusiak (Wisła Cracow), Pawel Brozek (Wisla Cracow), Dawid Janczyk (CSKA Moskwa)

Now the fun begins. First of all, there are only 23 slots in the Euro squad, so seven players will have to stay at home. Secondly, there is still a fighting chance that some of the omitted players will mesmerize Leo in the next two months. As a hopeless squad analyst (a remnant of my Championship Manager addiction) I’ve decided to divide this chosen thirty into three groups:

Dead certs for the Euro: Boruc, Wasilewski, Bak, Zewlakow, Bronowicki, Lewandowski, Dudka, Blaszczykowski, Lobodzinski, Krzynowek, Smolarek, Zurawski.
This is our best possible starting eleven plus Lobodzinski as a player that can make a difference from the bench. It’s the backbone of our squad; players who have already proved that they can play under pressure. Unfortunately, some have problems with regular play in their clubs (Lewandowski, Krzynowek). Moreover, Kuba Blaszczykowski is undergoing an injury treatment. However, I believe that once June comes they’ll be all ready to kick some German asses (got a bit carried away here).

Still have to prove their worth: Kuszczak, Fabianski, Golanski, Jop, Radomski, Murawski, Gargula, Matusiak.
A group of players that have already played in the qualifying campaign and haven’t disappointed. They’re very close to make it to the Euro squad. Kusczak and Fabianski won’t probably get a game for ManUtd and Arsenal respectively till the end of the season so this is the only opportunity when Leo can have a look at them. Golanski returns to the national team after a few months. He has finally started to play regularly for Steaua and receives positive reviews from the Romanian press. In my opinion he’s the best backup right back that we have. Radomski got a call up even though he’s been left out of Austria Vienna squad after he rejected to sign a new contract. He’s an experienced player and an additional option for the central defender and defensive midfielder positions. Murawski, Gargula and Matusiak will go to the Euro provided they play good enough in the Polish league; Leo already knows what they’re capable of.

Wild Cards: Kus, Kokoszka, Wawrzyniak, Pazdan, Golinski, Majewski, Zahorski, Piszczek, Brozek, Janczyk.
These are mainly players that showed enough potential in the last friendlies to still stand a chance of an Euro call up. Janczyk is the biggest surprise here as this is the first time that he’s been called up by Leo. The CSKA Moscow striker is one of the biggest talents of the Polish football; he was one of the stars of the last year’s World Youth Cup in Canada. He has a huge potential, however he is not considered a first team regular at CSKA. Leo is still looking for strikers and he probably wants to have a closer look at Dawid. Kus, Kokoszka and Wawrzyniak are all versatile defenders able to cover any holes in the defensive line (one of them will get his chance at Euro). For me, Pazdan and Golinski are not yet ready to play on the international scene. Majewski is a very interesting player; in the last friendly against the Foreign Stars he had a superb assist proving that he can play a surprising ball. Piszczek had a poor game against the Foreign Stars but he still managed to get a call up. Zahorski and Brozek are the most talented attackers in the Polish league, it’s up to Leo to decide whether they are good enough to make it on the European level.

The omitted players include Rasiak, Saganowski, Wichniarek, Kowalewski and Zienczuk. I was personally hoping that Wichniarek will get another chance; I think he did quite well in the friendly against the Czechs. The omission is no surprise in case of Saganowski and Rasiak as they both have poor seasons in England. Kowalewski now seems to be the fourth choice keeper. Zienczuk, a true star of the Polish league, has never proved himself in the national squad. Roger is still wating for the Polish citizenship so he can’t be considered an Euro candidate for the time being.

Here is how Janczyk can help the national team.