HAVING finished a disappointing third in their group behind the Czech Republic and Albania, Poland needed a penalty shootout victory over Wales in the play-offs to reach the tournament.
After such a shaky qualifying campaign, there is little hope that Poland will make it through a very difficult group.
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Former U21 coach Michal Probierz parachuted in during qualifying to turn things around and managed to go unnoticed, but he has no experience of managing a major tournament.
The team will be of great interest to English club fans, featuring Aston Villa’s Matty Cash, Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, Southampton’s Jan Bednarek and Brighton midfielder Jakub Moder.
Coach: Michal Probierz
He managed 10 clubs, nine of them Polish, one of which lasted just two days.
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Key man: Robert Lewandowski
There is no doubt that Poland’s fortunes will depend on whether or not Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is sacked.
However, he is expected to improve on his record of just seven goals in 18 appearances in the tournament.
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Probable lineup
The Poles usually play with a three-man defense and full-backs in a 3-5-2 formation.
Lewandowski is the main focus of the attack, supported by Karol Swiderski, who plays for Serie A side Hellas Verona, on loan from MLS side Charlotte FC.
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How they attack
Expect to see Poland line up for the tournament in a 3-5-2 formation.
The full-backs will combine with one of the deepest midfielders to try to get the ball safely out of the defense.
They use clever rotations to move the ball – but can sometimes be too slow to make progress.
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Poland uses the two full-backs as their main tactic to take the ball up the field.
When they receive the ball in space, they are more likely to pass and move rather than dribble or advance with the ball.
They will often look to combine and exchange positions with central midfielders.
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As they open up space in the attacking phase, we will see Poland become more aggressive in advancing the ball as they look to quickly free up runners to attack space.
It’s not a team we can expect to be heavily possession-based.
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How do they defend
As with many teams coming into this tournament, we expect to see Poland work and press relatively high when their opponents look to play from the back.
Playing high and compact against the ball seems to be a real trend on the defensive side of the game among the teams that qualified for Germany.
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When the opposition is lured into making passes that are still relatively short, but out wide and into wide spaces, we can expect to see Poland quickly move their block to pin the opposition on the touchline and then force a turnover.
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When they drop back and defend in a more mid-range block, we still see clever positioning from the Polish side against the ball.
They will remain strong and compact centrally. With the two strikers and three central midfielders and then the full-backs will be positioned aggressively high up.
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Prediction
Poland are in a difficult group with France, the Netherlands and potential underdogs Austria.
If they can overcome the odds and top the standings, the Poles will face the runners-up in Group F – the Czech Republic, Turkey and Georgia would be the most likely, but Portugal could slip up.
Belgium and England would prevent a surprise run to the final in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
If they finish second, the Group E runners-up will be next, potentially Ukraine or Romania.
Poland could also progress as one of the best third-place teams, but would then face a tough draw in the round of 16.
Latest odds
Poland is not expected to perform well in the tournament.
They are 1.001/1 with William Hill, which puts them in the bottom six of 24 countries.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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