Poland World Cup 2018 team guide – opponents and fixtures, kits, key player, plus their likely line-up
That Robert Lewandowski isn't bad, eh?
Poland are playing in their eighth World Cup in Russia, having stormed through their qualifying campaign.
It's a talented side and one that will believe they can go far. marvelbet369.com takes an in-depth look at the Group H nation...
MANAGER
Adam Nawalka played for Poland at the 1978 World Cup where the midfielder appeared five times. He was given the national job in 2013, having spent his coaching career in Poland and guided the team to the Euro 2016 quarter-final and into their first World Cup since 2006.
CAPTAIN
Robert Lewandowski's leadership during qualifying was crucial to the team playing in their first World Cup since 2006. He is the main striker, but offers so much more and his team-mates absolutely love playing alongside him. "He doesn't just hang about up front and score, he joins in the team play. He's a terrific footballer and it's a pleasure playing alongside him," Arjen Robben said, while his former boss, Pep Guardiola said: "He is the most professional player I have ever met. In his head, he thinks about the right food, sleep and training 24 hours a day. He is always there, never injured, because he focuses on these things."
KEY PLAYER
Robert Lewandowski. When you have him in your side then you've got a chance. He scored 16 goals in 10 qualifying games and was responsible for 64 per cent of Poland's goals. According to Nawalka, the 29-year-old is "the best striker in the world," which is hard to disagree with. During qualifying he also became his country's top scoring player when he surpassed Wlodzimierz Lubanskis previous record of 48. At the time of writing Lewandowski has scored 55 times in 95 games.
ONE TO WATCH
Piotr Zielinski is better than Kevin De Bruyne, according to Zbigniew Boniek, the former Poland international and now chairman of the country's FA. In terms of quality, I think Zielinski is even superior to De Bruyne, he told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport newspaper. They are different players, clearly, but have the same impact on a squad. I am still waiting for him to fully bloom, because he has a lot more to show. I think Zielinski will become a genuine superstar. Liverpool were heavily linked with him in 2016 and were prepared to pay Udinese £11.75million, but he ultimately joined Napoli instead where the 24-year-old has a new fan in former manager Maurizio Sarri.
FIXTURES
Tuesday, June 19: Poland v SENEGAL (Otkrytie Arena, Moscow) - kick-off 16:00
Sunday, June 24: Poland v COLOMBIA (Kazan Arena, Kazan) - kick-off 19:00
Thursday, June 28: JAPAN v Poland (Volgograd Arena, Volgograd) - kick-off 15:00
*You can listen to EVERY 2018 World Cup match live on the talkSPORT network
KITS
RECORD IN QUALIFYING
They won eight of their 10 games and confirmed their place as Group E winners on the final day when a 4-2 victory against Montenegro meant second placed Denmark were unable to catch them.
TOURNAMENT PREPARATIONS
Fans will probably be expecting another run towards the knock-out stage and will think their team has enough quality to escape a group containing Senegal, Japan and Colombia. To get them ready, they played two friendlies against Chile on 8 June, drawing 2-2, and Lithuania on 12 June, which they won 4-0. Lewandowski scored in both games, obviously.
BASE CAMP
Hyatt Regency, Sochi
PROBABLE LINE-UP
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