Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Krystian Bielik has been putting in some strong performances for Birmingham City since his return from injury at the start of September. On loan from Derby County, Bielik has been part of a Birmingham team mildly overachieving, given they were widely tipped as relegation favourites prior to the start of the season and now find themselves in 18th ahead of a trip to Hull this afternoon. He's been playing so well in fact that the Birmingham manager, John Eustace, named him as the best midfielder in the Championship.
Bielik’s fitness and form is good news for Birmingham and in turn Poland, given Selekcjoner Czesław Michniewicz publicly stated that Bielik would be first choice defensive midfielder for Poland if he remained fit and in good form. Bielik appears to be holding up his end of the bargain, so we can assume Michniewicz would stay true to his word.
Given Poland’s injury problems in midfield, and Michniewicz’s penchant for defensive football so far as national team manager, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Bielik line up next to Grzegorz Krychowiak. Long thought to be in competition for the same position for Poland as the number 6, they could be capable of playing together although with that midfield Poland would be seriously reliant on the wing-backs and the players ahead of them to generate attacking play. If Michniewicz wants to be a bit more adventurous, you could see Bielik playing as the defensive midfielder next to the more attacking-minded Piotr Zieliński, which is probably what I would do if I were picking the team.
However, all this relies on Bielik staying fit, something which is sadly not a guarantee. Many in Poland are almost assuming Bielik won’t go to Qatar based upon his previous injury record, despite his good performances for Birmingham, or that he will pick up an injury in preparation for the tournament. It’s a shame that a player with undeniable quality like Bielik will always be judged on how likely he is to get injured.
As always, I’d like to remain more optimistic than that. Michniewicz is a fan of Bielik and played him in the World Cup play-off game against Sweden, which was probably Poland’s last really big game. This is a good indicator that Bielik will be chosen for the World Cup squad, and that if fit he will start.
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