Images via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
We’re now a good month and a half into the 2023/24 season (as far as Europe is concerned, anyway) and it’s become apparent that there might be a problem developing in terms of regular time on the pitch for Poland’s first choice wingers in the national team, namely Jakub Kamiński and Michał Skóraś.
Kamiński enjoyed a decent first season with Wolfsburg last year, with five goals and three assists in 33 appearances in all competitions. This year, however, he has found himself shackled to the bench as Wolfsburg have brought in reinforcements in the positions Kamiński was most often deployed. So far in the six competitive games Wolfsburg have played, he has been on the pitch for less than two hours in total.
Skóraś joined Bruges this summer, and has been similarly limited to time off the bench. However, Bruges have played more games than Wolfsburg and Skóraś has had significantly more minutes and has even scored for his new club. That being said, in the last international break, Kamiński looked far sharper for Poland than Skóraś did.
It’s not just these two that the issues are limited to; wing-backs are struggling to replicate previous form as well. Nicola Zalewski has really struggled to cement himself at Roma this season and Przemysław Frankowski (and Lens in general) haven’t been able to build on the brilliance of last season. It is worth pointing out in the interest of balance, though, that Matty Cash has been doing very well so far this year with Aston Villa.
So, who does deserve more time in the conversation for the national team, ahead of Michał Probierz’s first call-ups on Thursday? Despite a cold keeping him out of this weekend’s action, Paweł Wszołek will almost certainly be back in contention, given that his fantastic form to start the season means he has been more than deserving of inclusion. The only issue is, Wszołek plays on the same side as Cash, which means reinforcement on the left is more of a pressing issue.
Having watched a fair amount of him this season so far, Tymoteusz Puchacz has been scintillating for Kaiserslautern in the 2.Bundesliga, and has been by far the best player in the team every week. Playing both as a traditional left-back and wing-back, he already has a goal and two assists. I’d be very surprised if he is not seriously considered by Probierz.
Adrian Benedyczak has been similarly fantastic, scoring six in nine for Parma and despite a call-up last time around, he didn’t receive any playing time. I for one would like to see him get that playing time with Poland, and he does play on the left, although he is far more attacking minded than the other names mentioned.
If you’ve read this website for a while, you’ll know how much of a soft spot I have for Przemysław Płacheta, and he has slowly been rebuilding his Norwich career over the course of the last month. He has a goal and an assist in just over 450 minutes of football, and whilst that’s hardly outstanding he has physical attributes that could prove useful and is capable of playing anywhere down the left side, or in a more advanced role on the right.
I’d be shocked if Kamiński and Skóraś don’t still start for Poland, but it’s important to consider that if the issues with Poland’s wingers don’t resolve then there are players coming into form at the right time.
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