Poland’s Nations League Squad: Versatile, but difficult to see what formation will work best

Image via @LacnyNasPilka on Twitter

At 1pm CET, the Polish squad for the upcoming Nations League ties with Holland and Wales was announced. There were some surprising additions, and some not so surprising. Let’s break it down by position.

Goalkeepers

Wojciech Szczęsny has been included despite not being fit yet after the ankle injury he suffered at the end of August, so we should expect to see Bartłomiej Drągowski given the start in at least one of these two games. Radosław Majecki has been a starter in the Belgian league for Cercle Brugge, so his inclusion is unsurprising given the injury to Kamil Grabara, and I hope we can see Łukasz Skorupski in goal at some point, given how consistently solid he is at Bologna.

Defenders

There are no real surprises here, other than the implication Jakub Kiwior will be a starter in Michniewicz’s side. The young centre-half has been turning in excellent performances for Spezia, so it is only right that he starts more consistently with the national team. Usual suspects Paweł Dawidowicz, Kamil Glik and Jan Bednarek all make the squad, as does the recent Ekstraklasa export (see what I did there) Mateusz Wieteska. I’m pleased to see Robert Gumny included, who could also play as a wing-back on the right side. His inclusion comes due to the injury suffered by Matty Cash, but he could well play his way into the World Cup reckoning, as Michniewicz has been emphasising he wants versatility in his squad.

Wing-Backs

A deserved call-up for Lech Poznań’s Michał Skóraś, who has been one of the few Lech players consistently performing this season, and he can play in a more advanced traditional winger role also. Arkadiusz Reca is also included after some decent performances for Spezia, as is Nicola Zalewski, despite question marks over his fitness after an injury he suffered in Roma’s Europa League loss to Ludogorets.

On the other flank, there is a richly deserved call-up for Przemysław Frankowski, who can play as a wing-back on either side. In my opinion, Frankowski has to be a starter for Poland at the World Cup if he can continue his good form for Lens. We then see more versatility with the established names of Bartosz Bereszyński and Tomasz Kędziora, who can also play on the right-side of a back three like Gumny.

Midfielders

Usual inclusions of Piotr Zieliński, Mateusz Klich and Grzegorz Krychowiak will feature as well as deserved call-ups for Jakub Piotrowski, Szymon Żurkowski and the red-hot Sebastian Szymański. Karol Linetty is also included, and whilst he hasn’t been exceptional for Torino so far this season, he is a decent midfielder in the prime of his career, and we all know midfield is going to be an issue given the injury problems Poland are facing in that department.

A first call-up for Pogoń Szczecin’s Mateusz Łęgowski also, which is a slightly puzzling one in my opinion. I would say there are better young midfielders in the Ekstraklasa, such as Zagłębie Lubin’s Łukasz Łakomy, but I understand the rationale of calling-up a more defensively-minded midfielder in Łęgowski.

Wingers

By far and away the thinnest area of the squad is the presence of traditional wingers, although we already mentioned that Skóraś can be deployed in that role as well. Kamil Grosicki has been brought back into the national set-up by Michniewicz, and although he is approaching the end of his career, he still has the ability to provide good crosses. Jakub Kamiński was pretty outstanding in the game against Wales in Wrocław this summer, and he can also be utilised in the wing-back roles, although he is far more offensive than any of the other options that could play there.

Strikers

Probably the deepest area of the squad, and the most in-form, is the striker position. Lewandowski will most likely find himself rested in the game in Cardiff, and as I’ve been writing about earlier, Arek Milik and Krzysztof Piątek are playing well in Italy. Karol Świderski has also been in imperious form in the MLS, and despite not being called up, Michniewicz is keeping Dawid Kownacki in his thoughts.

Versatility is what Michniewicz wants from his Poland side, and admirable as that is, I can’t see a 3-4-3 formation getting the best out of the players he has picked here. Personally, I think that a 3-4-1-2 would be ideal, allowing for Zieliński or Szymański to play in behind Lewandowski and Milik/Piątek. Zieliński could also play slightly deeper in that midfield next to a more defensive midfielder.

It would be silly to make these assumptions without seeing the team in action, and we will find out exactly how well Michniewicz’s tactics and selections work when Holland go to the Stadion Narodowy in ten days’ time.

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