Poland 1-0 Lithuania: A win, but little else to smile about as Poland struggle

Image via @LaczyNasPilka on Twitter

A late Robert Lewandowski strike ensured that Poland received all three points from a difficult evening against Lithuania in Warszawa. 

Realistically, it was Lewandowski’s goal that was the only true highlight of what was a tough watch from a Polish perspective. From the 24 shots which the home side took on the Lithuanian goal, a mere seven were on target and obviously, only one ended up hitting the back of the net.

It could have been a lot worse before Lewandowski found the target ten minutes from time. Mere minutes prior, a mix-up in Poland’s defence saw a point-blank chance for Lithuania saved by Łukasz Skorupski. 

Understandably, given the expectation and the dire way in which Poland played, the immediate aftermath has seen a lot of opinions that this is the worst they have played under Michał Probierz, and perhaps the worst they have played in recent memory. For what it’s worth I would disagree, but not a lot.

Tonight probably was one of Poland’s weakest performances under Probierz, and he must bear some responsibility for that. Jakub Piotrowski was not good and neither was Karol Świderski, although it has to be said Matty Cash more or less took his chance on his return. I was actually surprised that Cash was one of Probierz’s first changes given how relatively well he was doing, although I imagine fitness was a driving force behind that substitution.

Indeed it was the man who replaced him, Jakub Kamiński, who provided the assist for the goal. Between himself and another substitute, Mateusz Bogusz, they drove successfully down the left hand side of the pitch together in a way that we hadn’t seen in the game up to that point. 

Lithuania deserve a lot of credit for making it such a painful watch. They sat deep for the most part, countered well when they could and made the game physical. That being said however, it was still a faintly pathetic display from Poland and you do have to worry about the possibility of facing either of Spain or the Netherlands given the current situation.

I think in hindsight, expecting three or four goals tonight was optimistic, and more still after we saw what the team selection was and how Lithuania were set up to defend. You have to say though that it was such a mediocre Polish performance as well as result that Monday night’s next qualifier against Malta assumes even more significance for a good result and performance.

Put it this way, I’d be very surprised if we saw the same starting line-up on Monday as we did tonight. Piotrowski and Świderski will almost surely drop out, and it’ll be a real toss-up to see who steps into the midfield. I think we’ll definitely be seeing Krzysztof Piątek start against Malta, as even in the brief period he was on the pitch I found him a more convincing option than Świderski had been up to that point.

Realistically, international football tends to be more about results than good performances, but marrying the two is the ideal outcome. We’ve seen evidence that Probierz’s Poland can do that, but it’s been very fleeting of late. Hopefully the next qualifier will provide us with some more cause for optimism as it feels thin on the ground after tonight’s struggle.

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