Fastgoal.com <World Cup 2018> - Group H - Poland Team Review

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Poland

FIFA World Ranking: 10
Qualifying Average Goals Per Match: 2.80
Qualifying Average Goals Against Per Match: 1.40
Qualifying Top Scorer: Robert Lewandowski (16)
World Cup Best Performance: Third Place (1974 & 1982)

Group H Opponents: Colombia, Japan and Senegal


The Manager: Adam Nawalka
Good enough to be selected into the team of the tournament when playing for Poland at the 1978 World Cup, Nawalka was a classy operator in his playing days which were unfortunately cut short all too soon due to injury.

Having now worked in a managerial or coaching capacity for over twenty years – all of which have come in Poland – Nawalka brings plenty of experience to the role including time spent serving as assistant manager in 2007-08.

Extremely well respected in the Polish game, he has been in sole charge since 2013 and brings a shrewd tactical approach which saw Poland reach the quarter finals of the European Championships for the first time in their history in 2016. He will be keen to build on that result here.


The Squad:
Pretty solid from front to back with high quality players running right through the spine of the side.

Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski represent one of the better duos in the competition when it comes to goalkeepers.

Kamil Glik, Lukasz Piszcek and Bartosz Bereszyński bring Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A quality to the back four, with Glik in particular capable of putting in heroic performances when required.

Central midfield could perhaps be stronger. Grzegorz Krychowiak was struggling to even get into the West Bromwich Albion at the end of the season but is still likely to be relied upon here. Offsetting that just a little though is the emergence of the player labelled in more than one quarter as the new Kevin De Bruyne. The rising star of the Polish game, if Piotr Zieliński can even come close to living up to that billing, fans could be in for a treat.

Jakub Blaszczykowski and Kamil Grosicki are the usual supply line from the flanks for one of the deadliest frontmen in the game, Robert Lewandowski.


Star Man: Robert Lewandowski
Poland’s most famous player has disappointed at the last two international tournaments in which he was taken part, but it is surely only a matter of time before he hits form on the big stage. Consistently prolific in the Bundesliga for first Borussia Dortmund and now Bayern Munich, Lewandowski truly belongs in the worlds elite bracket of finishers. He was simply sensational in qualifying, shooting the lights out with a total of 16 goals in just ten games.


Outlook:
Undoubtedly one of the toughest groups to predict, Poland are nevertheless the best of the four sides according to the rankings and probably deserve that status. Colombia and Senegal are both big threats, but Poland look to be the most tactically organised of the trio, and that may be enough to see them come out on top.


Group H Prediction: http://fastgoal.com/forum/index.php?topic=2486.0

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