Images via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
The news emanating from the Poland camp ahead of Friday’s first Euro 2024 qualifier against the Czech Republic has been pretty bleak so far. First we had the news that Jan Bednarek had a badly bruised rib and was facing a race against time to be fit, and Kamil Piątkowski was ruled out completely, with Bartosz Salamon taking his place.
Yesterday we had the double-whammy of injury news, with reports that Kacper Kozłowski has not yet trained with the squad given a slight injury, and it is more likely he will feature on Monday against Albania, if at all. Then, in the evening, news came through that Bartosz Bereszyński had suffered a knee injury and Tymoteusz Puchacz has been called up to provide further cover at left back.
We should also factor in the blanket media ban that Fernando Santos has put in place after Łukasz Skorupski’s interview with Onet, which dredged up memories of the bonus scandal that clouded Poland’s World Cup exit and was a contributing factor to why Czesław Michniewicz did not see his contract renewed.
Like I said at the start of this article, fairly bleak reading. That being said, there’s always a silver lining and there certainly could be one here at the left back position. Michał Karbownik’s career was looking fairly unspectacular as late as last summer, when he accepted a loan move to Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga. Yet it’s been a truly pleasant surprise that Karbownik’s form in Germany has been so good it has seen him recalled to the senior squad for the first time since 2020 and is now set to start both matches of this international break.
Tymoteusz Puchacz played fairly well for Poland the last time he was in the senior squad, against Wales and Belgium in last summer’s Nations League games. However, his game time has been limited at Union Berlin and he now finds himself on loan in Greece at Panathinaikos, where he has mostly been limited to appearances off the bench. Puchacz may well find himself getting time off the bench here too, given that you imagine Santos would have reservations about Karbownik getting the full 180 minutes at left back just three days apart.
In my opinion, this enforced change at left back further freshens up the squad, and I think the time is definitely right for Karbownik to get his chance with Poland again. The squad is no weaker in that position with Bereszyński’s absence, make no mistake, but Santos has spoken about wanting a less defensive, more progressive style of football with his side and Karbownik is perfectly suited to help deliver that.
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