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One of the more interesting things to think about in the days since Fernando Santos was announced has been the probability of certain players being called up and others being dropped. Some of these seem obvious, and others a touch left-field. Then there are those who can’t quite be placed in either category.
That’s why I’ve created this short list, delving into why I think Santos will look upon these players either favourably or unfavourably. There’s about nine players on this list and of course, we don’t yet know what formation Santos will be choosing or which precise tactics he will employ, so this is a fairly general overview.
Chances Improved:
Kacper Kozłowski
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I’ve talked plenty about Kozłowski, and he has been playing to an adequate standard in the Eredivisie since he joined Vitesse on loan, getting another assist this weekend. Not exactly setting the league alight, but Philip Cocu was full of praise for Kozłowski and expressed hope that Czesław Michniewicz would take Kozłowski to the World Cup. As it turned out, Michniewicz stated he was conscious of taking a squad “for now, not the future”.
Santos loves packing a squad full of attacking midfielders, as we saw most recently with Portugal at the World Cup, and this can only be good for Kozłowski. Hopefully his steady form in Holland can continue and Santos can consider him for the European qualifiers in March.
Sebastian Szymański
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Already an important player for Poland, I expect Szymański to be given greater responsibility in the squad under Santos. As stated in the previous paragraph, Santos loves filling a team with attacking midfielders, and Szymański has been a real stand-out for Feyenoord this season.
Jakub Moder
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It’s been well-documented how long Moder has been out with complications to the ACL injury he suffered back in April, and now that he’s nearly back to full fitness he will of course be an important part of the Polish national team in the years to come, assuming he gets back to the level he was prior to his injury.
I think Santos will place greater emphasis on Moder given he is such a versatile midfielder, and not only he is one of the youngest in his position, but he is also playing at a higher level compared to many competing for his spot.
Chances suffered
Grzegorz Krychowiak
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We were all pretty certain that the World Cup would be Krychowiak’s last tournament for Poland, and whilst his international career is still alive, you would imagine it to be dwindling further now that Santos has been appointed. Michniewicz showed Krychowiak great favouritism, and even those who still have faith in Krychowiak’s abilities despite evidence to the contrary would be honest and realise Santos is unlikely to lavish Krychowiak with the same treatment.
Michał Karbownik
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I debated greatly whether to put Karbownik on this list or not; as I said we don’t know what formations and tactics Santos will apply to the Polish team, and Karbownik was deservedly really close to going to the World Cup given how well he has played in the 2. Bundesliga. Despite this, Michniewicz has always spoken very highly of Karbownik having been instrumental in developing the 21 year-old into a central midfielder whilst at Legia, and for this reason I think a coach not as familiar to the versatility of Karbownik might well harm his chances of being part of future Poland squads.
Bartosz Bereszyński
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Similar to Karbownik, I feel that the uncertainty around formation and tactics under Santos will work against Bereszyński, despite his excellent World Cup campaign. If Santos chooses to move away from the back four Poland played at the World Cup, you would imagine that the wing-back roles would be occupied by Nicola Zalewski and Matty Cash. That being said Bereszyński would be very capable as one of the centre backs in that kind of system, so perhaps it is that his chances suffer the least of those in this section.
Hard to say
Kamil Glik
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Glik is very much getting on in years and it would be a minor miracle, or a damning indictment, if Glik were still to be starting for Poland at Euro 2024. However, that’s not to say he can’t still do a job for the national team in the next 6-12 months, but it’s difficult to say if Santos would see it that way.
Dawid Kownacki/Krzysztof Piątek
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Kownacki was desperately unlucky to be having such a great season and not taken to the World Cup, with Michniewicz stating that he considered each of the four strikers he took (Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Karol Świderski and Krzysztof Piątek) to be undroppable from his squad. Hard to predict if Santos will feel the same way, but I can see a fairly settled squad being named by him, at least for the first round of the qualifiers, which would leave Kownacki out in the cold again.
Many pundits and fans in Poland think that Piątek is the most droppable of these four strikers, which I would disagree with. A lot of attention is drawn to the fact that he has scored fewer goals since 2018-19 (his breakout season with Genoa/AC Milan) than he did in that season alone, and I think this is fair criticism to an extent. He has moved around a lot in this time, first the evidently disastrous choice to join a Hertha Berlin team on the way down as he felt he was being forced out at Milan. He suffered a serious ankle injury in 2021, missing the postponed Euros, had a steady spell at Fiorentina and has now had an okay season at Salernitana, forming a great strike partnership with Boulaye Dia. Whilst not looking too good for Piątek, he is still clearly a top quality striker and has now added an element of teamwork to his all-round game.
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