Images via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
In Monday’s press conference, Selekcjoner Czesław Michniewicz referred to the national team’s midfield as being the “biggest dilemma” that he would have to solve for the World Cup. We all know very well by now that Jakub Moder, who would’ve been nailed on to start in the tournament, has been ruled out until 2023 with the ACL injury he suffered back in April. Furthermore, there are question marks over the level of match sharpness Grzegorz Krychowiak would retain given his club football finishes around a full month before the start of the tournament.
If we look at some of the players Michniewicz has selected for the midfield for the upcoming Nations League ties, there is 19 year-old Pogoń Szczecin midfielder Mateusz Łęgowski and Szymon Żurkowski of Fiorerntina. Michniewicz has already said that Żurkowski’s possible World Cup involvement is at risk due to the competition he faces for game time at his club.
Quite frankly, some of the decisions don’t make much sense in my opinion. Questioning the match readiness of Żurkowski is perfectly fine, but given how thin on the ground Poland are for midfielders of that quality, it does leave me scratching my head. Then we come to Łęgowski, a perfectly solid, young, Ekstraklasa midfielder, but if we’re picking a young midfielder from the Ekstraklasa it would be wiser in my opinion to look at Łukasz Łakomy at Zagłębie Lubin. The 21 year-old has probably been his club’s finest player this season, he had interest from the Eredivisie and in the first ten games of this season has the stats worthy of a call-up.
Another point worth making is we’re yet to really see what kind of form Kacper Kozłowski might be in come November. The youngest ever player to feature at a Euros tournament got an assist at the weekend for Vitesse, and in my opinion it would make sense to take him to the World Cup if his form deserved it, perhaps even to take him anyway given the problems in the midfield.
Michniewicz seems to be reverting to a certain kind of style with the national team, and whatever you thought of Paulo Sousa’s time as Poland coach, he did have some interesting ideas. Personally, I would love to see a less defensive midfield, given Poland will be playing with three centre-backs, and just the lone striker with Lewandowski.
Credit to Michniewicz, as he is not afraid to change formation mid-game, and I think a more dynamic and attacking midfield would be the way to go. If starting one of Krychowiak, or another more defensive-minded midfielder, surely it makes sense to drop Piotr Zieliński back next to him, much like how he is currently being deployed at Napoli. That way, it leaves room for Sebastian Szymański to play at the 10 position and frees up space to have a second striker (probably Arek Milik) to partner Lewy, with width coming from the wing-backs.
If Michniewicz figures out the midfield, that is the bulk of his problems out of the way. In all possibility, the midfield we see tomorrow against Holland might be the one that starts against Mexico on November 22nd. I don’t agree with all of Michniewicz’s selections currently, but he is the Selekcjoner and I am sat on a laptop, so it would be unwise of me to pass judgement before watching these latest matches.
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