Poland 3-1 Finland: A mostly stress-free evening as Urban’s plans come together

Image via @LaczyNasPilka on Twitter

Goals from Matty Cash, Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Kamiński ensured that Poland ran out 3-1 winners against Finland in Chorzów.

On what could have been a tricky night for the Biało-czerwoni, it proved very comfortable for the home team. Initially their biggest threat was the head of Przemysław Wiśniewski, as  he had two attempts in the early stages of the match which threatened the Finnish goal.

Eventually it was Cash who notched yet another goal in a Poland shirt. Less spectacular than his equaliser on Thursday but just as important, his low drive took a minor nick off a defender to take it further away from the outstretched arm of the keeper.

Just as the half was winding down, a wonderful ball in behind from Piotr Zieliński saw Lewandowski stride purposefully through towards goal, finishing with his usual aplomb to see Poland good value for a two-goal lead at half-time.

After the break Lewandowski was again involved, as it was a smooth counter attack led by him and Kamiński which saw the captain’s effort parried to the Köln winger, who netted only his second ever goal for Poland.

Substitutions from Jan Urban saw the initiative ceded to the away side, and Finland earned a late consolation through Benjamin Kallman. The late Finnish rally saw the ball in the back of the net again, although this was disallowed for a push on Paweł Wszołek.

In truth there was never any serious concern about the result, whether due to the nature of Thursday night or because it’s clear to see Urban has improved the confidence of these players, and his first two games as Selekcjoner show that the tactical changes are working. 

Kamiński in particular seems to be a revelation under Urban, and his choice to have Wiśniewski as a defensive fixture in the other big change paying off so far. In the space of about five days, Urban has transformed the mood around the Polish national team and taken Poland back to 2nd in the qualifying group.

It’s the manner of the way it has happened too, though. Happy to concede possession and work on the counter-attack, but when they have the ball Poland look inventive and able to push back their opponents in the two games we’ve seen. It’s early days but already the improvement is stark and you have to say it’s a huge difference in a very short space of time. 

We’ll see whether or not this continues during next month’s international break, but there can be no doubt for now that Poland under Urban look a cohesive footballing unit in terms of style, performance and - best of all - results. 

For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.