Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
I thought that in today’s article I’d take a look at Robert Gumny, who has continued to impress this season for Augsburg in the Bundesliga. Part of a solid defence in front of fellow countryman and goalkeeper Rafał Gikiewicz, Gumny has been playing on the right side of a back three, having started his career as a natural right-back.
This is welcome news to Czesław Michniewicz ahead of the World Cup, given he has emphasised how much he is looking for versatile players to be part of the 26-man squad. It’s especially good news for Gumny, whose international career was left in doubt after Matty Cash became eligible for the Polish national team, given that they played the same position and Cash is arguably one of the best right-backs in the Premier League.
This week, Gumny scored for Augsburg against Wolfsburg, smashing home off the crossbar to equalise after the ball ricocheted around the box from a corner. He was named by German football magazine Kicker in the team of the week and last week he notched an assist against Schalke. The Bundesliga weekend before that, he was part of the Augsburg defence that kept a clean sheet against Bayern Munich to help his team to a famous 1-0 win.
Given that Kamil Glik has suffered what could be a complicated groin injury, Gumny might be expected to step into the back three for Poland, given his good form and his ability to play there. It’s certainly a consideration and a good headache for Michniewicz who has had so many problems in other areas of the pitch.
If Glik is an injury doubt ahead of the World Cup, you would expect Jan Bednarek to be shifted into the centre of the back three and one of Gumny, Bartosz Bereszyński or Tomasz Kędziora to line-up on the right side of the three with Jakub Kiwior on the left. In my opinion, that’s just as good a back three as one with Glik in it.
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