Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Tomorrow, Czesław Michniewicz will be making his preliminary call-ups for the Polish World Cup squad. According to reports from Meczyki, Michniewicz will opt to announce 40 players, which will be trimmed to 26. This article will be about those who were not present at the last Nations League meeting, but will probably be included this time around, as well as some borderline decisions Michniewicz himself has admitted he has to make.
First off, Krystian Bielik is guaranteed to find himself a place in this 40-man roster. I wrote an article about his progress at Birmingham City the other day, and it’s been well-documented that if fit, Michniewicz wants Bielik as a starter in Poland’s midfield at the World Cup.
I’m hopeful that some of Poland’s younger players, like Kacper Kozłowski, might find themselves in this preliminary call-up. He’s been playing well on loan at Vitesse in the Netherlands and considering all the midfield problems, he could provide something a little different.
Another trend we might see is older players in this preliminary announcement, who probably don’t stand a great chance of going but Michniewicz would like to consider, like Artur Jędrzejczyk of Legia. Former national team coach Adam Nawałka recently made the point that if Jan Bednarek wasn’t getting the time on the pitch he needed at Aston Villa, that taking Jędrzejczyk to Qatar could pay off for Poland.
Another person I’d like to see make the shortlist is Rafał Wolski. The Wisła Płock midfielder has been lighting up the Ekstraklasa so far this season, and although there are question marks after his recent drink-driving conviction, he would undoubtedly be a player of technical ability that could make the midfield tick along in a more creative way than it has done, for example in the September Nations League matches.
As for those who are on the edge, it’s sometimes difficult to tell with Michniewicz. He said if Szymon Żurkowski’s sitiuation didn’t improve at Fiorentina he may not go to the World Cup, and since the situation is much the same, it’s hard to say if he’ll make the final 26 although he should be included tomorrow.
Bafflingly, the same could well apply for Karol Świderski. Świderski almost becomes a different player when he plays for Poland, but Michniewicz warned that if Świderski didn’t make the MLS Playoffs with Charlotte (he didn’t) then his place in the squad was under threat. Świderski’s closest competition would be Dawid Kownacki, and whilst on paper not much could separate them, we all know after his recent exploits how good Świderski is for Poland.
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