Image via @LaczyNasPilka on Twitter
Yesterday afternoon Fernando Santos informed us of his picks for Poland’s next set of qualifiers for Euro 2024 against the Faroe Islands and Albania. With five games left, the Biało-Czerwoni need to win all their remaining matches to realistically be assured of qualification.
There were plenty of the usual suspects heavily relied upon, but there were a few names that raise an eyebrow, both positively and negatively. I’ll be looking slightly more closely at six of the names that make up the 25-man squad.
There has been a level of clamouring for Paweł Dawidowicz to be back in the Poland squad given he was absent for the entirety of 2022, and he is perceived to be somewhat more solid than some of the competition for his place. He’s arguably been one of Hellas Verona’s most reliable players for both last season and so far this season, even being named captain on multiple occasions. What is certain is Dawidowicz’s inclusion adds a level of experience and strength in depth that was lacking in the previous Poland squad.
We’ll tackle the next two together, speaking of experience. Including Grzegorz Krychowiak and Kamil Grosicki in the squad seems to be Santos’ way of firing back at the seemingly incessant criticism that there is not enough experience in the squads he has previously appointed. Personally I think there was experience just fine, and that the players were largely there on merit over reputation. Krychowiak, fine a midfielder as he once was, remains a divisive figure both as a player and a person, and his appointment smacks of going back to it being a selection based on reputation.
Grosicki has, I think, more reason to be included in a Poland squad in 2023 than Krychowiak. Despite now being 35, Grosicki remains one of the most talented and watchable players in the Ekstraklasa, and if we add his value as an experienced leader there is more than enough reason for him to be in this squad. I don’t think he’ll see any meaningful time on the pitch, but he might be able to add a certain level-headedness that was sometimes previously lacking (see the second half against Moldova).
Having Bartosz Slisz part of the squad again seems just reward for some exceptional recent performances for Legia Warszawa. I’ll touch on this in another article later today, but here we have a player written off by (most) fans and journalists, who has improved his level so drastically he looks more like the player he once had the potential to be.
As for a more attacking midfield option, I’m pleased that Kacper Kozłowski is getting another call-up. Forced to withdraw from one of Santos’ previous squads due to injury, Kozłowski remains such a huge talent in terms of potential that there has to be some desire to crowbar him into one of the positions that Santos would favour him playing. Deputising for Piotr Zieliński seems the most obvious, depending on what the situation of the game would be.
Finally, we come to Adrian Benedyczak, someone I find myself writing about more and more often on this website. Santos himself says that Benedyczak has piqued his interest as a player who is markedly different from the other players called-up, and I have to agree. There had been reports that Szymon Włodarczyk might have been included, but the spot for a young forward is Benedyczak’s on this occasion.
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