A special report from Legia vs Hibs, a look at Jan Urban’s first Poland squad, Conference League previews and transfer talk: a bumper article
- Bruce Davis
- Aug 29
- 6 min read
Every time I sat down to plan what this latest diatribe would look like, things seemed to keep adding onto the pile. Originally, the bulk of this was going to be about my experience last night at Legia’s thrilling Conference League qualifier against Scottish side Hibernian, but then of course I also realised that today would be the day that Jan Urban named his first Poland call-ups as Selekcjoner, not to mention the draw for the league phase of the Conference League which (spoilers) featured all four Polish clubs who were playing in European qualifiers. Then also there has been some really big moves for notable Polish players over the course of the past week, so it’s really gathered pace and made this article almost as bulky as this opening paragraph.
Let’s start where I’d planned to then, with a special look at the second leg of Legia’s qualifier against Hibs. Having already had a week in Poland planned for the end of August, I realised I’d be in Warszawa on Thursday night, and would have the opportunity to buy a ticket.
Fast forward to last night, and I took my place in the stands. Feeling slightly out of place that I wasn’t wearing any Legia merchandise (having left my fetching retro shirt at home and not wanting to spring out for a new one), I nonetheless wholeheartedly threw my support behind the home team, taking part in the pre-match flag waving, singing along where I could but admittedly mostly focusing on the game.
What a game, as well. Legia have been fairly inconsistent during these early weeks of Edward Iordanescu’s time as manager, and this was perhaps the most starkly inconsistent display so far encapsulated into a single match as it was. Taking an early lead to extend the aggregate advantage, throwing it away early in the second half before a last-gasp goal in stoppage time then finally scoring again during extra time and managing to see it out with few major heart-stopping moments, except for Kacper Tobiasz’s match-winning save in the dying embers.
On an individual level I was amazed that Rafał Augustyniak remained on the pitch as long as he did, seemingly drawing the ire of everyone around me in stand as well. Not to say Augustyniak lacked quality, but it did seem like Damian Szymański would be an obvious improvement, and indeed that was the change made (eventually).
Furthermore I wince slightly at the thought that Legia paid so much money for their new striker Mileta Rajovic. Yes he may have scored the winning goal, but up to that point he was practically invisible and being such a lumbering unit, hardly mobile when the ball was in behind for him to chase.
Equally concerning would be Legia’s three-man defence given the fact that Artur Jędrzejczyk is not exactly a young man and Jan Ziółkowski has now left for Roma, a deserving move of such a top talent. The supposed transfer of Kamil Piątkowski will soften the blow for Legia, but many times last night I thought while watching Ziółkowski that he had all the qualities to be a starting defender for the Polish national team for years to come.
This leads me nicely to today’s announcement by Jan Urban of his first call-ups as Selekcjoner, which do include Ziółkowski. It’s a little bit of a shock to see some of the names included, which you can below.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that Marcin Bułka should lose his place given his decision to move to Saudi Arabia instead of a purported Premier League move, but the inclusion of Kamil Grabara in his place surely means that the Wolfsburg goalkeeper will start one of the two qualifiers Poland play in September, given his repeated declaration that he does not want to be called-up just to sit on the bench.
In defence there are a number of fresh or returning faces, namely Arkadiusz Pyrka, Przemysław Wiśniewski, Tomask Kędziora and Paweł Wszołek. I’m really surprised by Pyrka’s inclusion, yes he played well the other week for St. Pauli against Borussia Dortmund but he was part of Poland’s disastrous U-21 Euro and maybe even one of the weaker players in that side. I’d love to be proved wrong but I don’t really understand his inclusion at this moment in time off the back of one decent performance in the Bundesliga.
Likewise I wasn’t too enamoured with what I saw during the Legia match from the perspective of what Wszołek might bring to the table. He has versatility and experience as a wing-back, and we assume from this squad that Urban is keeping the back three for his first games, but Wszołek is another option in a squad that didn’t really need more options in that position in my opinion.
Kędziora is another curious choice, no doubting he has had good moments playing for Poland but I couldn’t help notice when they were analysing these call-ups on TVP Sport that all the footage of Kędziora was from three or four years ago. He last played for Poland in the early days of Michał Probierz, that disappointing home draw against Moldova in 2023.
The midfield is largely “as you were”, with the exception of Kamil Grosicki no longer having been wished farewell it would seem and a slightly surprise inclusion of Bartosz Kapustka. Sorry to harp on about being at Łazienkowska last night, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality Kapustka evidently still possesses, given the way his career has panned out over the last decade.
Poland’s strike-force remains pretty much as we’ve come to expect over the last year, with the fairly predictable headline that Robert Lewandowski returns and is captain once more, so that whole saga is over pretty much as quickly as it began.
In truth these are sensible call-ups from Jan Urban, there is little scope for experimentation beyond the first-choice players but he has only been able to pick the players available to him. It’s a pool of players that is getting thinner and thinner for Poland, be it thanks to form or injury, so really Urban has had his hands tied a little bit whilst trying to put his own stamp on the squad.
Moving on again and a brief word on the Conference League draw, the opponents of the Polish teams can be viewed below and I for one am feeling pretty optimistic about the chances of all four sides.
You’d expect each team to stand a good chance of winning half of their games here, which should be enough in the league phase. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to all the Polish clubs still in the competition come the knockout rounds, and hopefully like last year we may see two Polish clubs get as far as the quarter-finals or perhaps further still.
There is a very negative argument that both Legia and Lech Poznań are only here by dint of failing to beat teams in qualifiers for the other European competitions, and whilst this is true I think the undervaluing of the Conference League really has to stop. It has been such a bonus for Polish clubs on both a competitive and financial level, and this before we get into the fact that it has significantly boosted the coefficient score and boosted the visibility of Polish clubs around Europe.
Lastly, I wanted to take a look at a few transfers I haven’t yet spoken about regarding Polish players. I’m excited to see Adam Buksa get his chance in a top European league again with Udinese, especially given how it went for him at Lens and the fact he will have a compatriot there in Jakub Piotrowski. It’s a great opportunity for both players, but Buksa especially, to earn a starting spot at a club in a top 5 league.
Moving down the food chain, at least in theory, is Jakub Kiwior as a deal is reportedly agreed between Porto and Arsenal for a loan with an obligation to buy. I think this is a fantastic move as Kiwior will be the main man in the defence of a top European club, rather than being treated to the occasional appearances he was getting at Arsenal. He’ll be lining up alongside Jan Bednarek at club level with this move and this can only be a good thing for the Polish national team and the cohesion it has sometimes lacked.
I’ll be back to preview Poland’s World Cup qualifiers more thoroughly next week, but until then I’ll endeavour to enjoy the rest of my holiday.
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