Poland’s November squad: Jan Urban shows he’s capable of surprising us with his call-ups, but are they helpful?

Image via @LaczyNasPilka on Twitter

This morning, Jan Urban announced his latest Poland squad for November’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Holland and Malta. Whilst you would assume the Biało-Czerwoni to be underdogs in their initial game against the Dutch in Warszawa, they should be considered comfortable favourites away to the Maltese.

That being said, it was a very pleasant surprise when Poland navigated a 1-1 draw away in Rotterdam, so there is every chance that in front of a home crowd Poland can match (or even better) that result which was achieved in Urban’s first outing as Selekcjoner barely two months ago. 

However, we should stick to the task at hand discussing this squad, one which shows us all that Urban can still mix in a few names we may not have picked ourselves, but it does beg the question as to what purpose these new faces serve? More on the specifics in the coming paragraphs, but for now a broader look.

In goal it remains unchanged, and really therefore there is little to write about. I hope against Malta we can see a bit more goalkeeper rotation, but at the same time Łukasz Skorupski is the number one on merit and there should be no disrespect shown to the Maltese national team, certainly not after what was not the steamrolling people expected in the first qualifier back in the spring. 

Defence sees arguably the biggest surprise, the inclusion of Górnik Zabrze’s Kryspin Szcześniak. Taking what has essentially been Arkadiusz Pyrka’s spot in Urban’s squad so far, Szcześniak is a functional Ekstraklasa right-back, capable of also playing in central defensive positions. To be frank his place in this squad seems almost because Górnik are in good form rather than anything Szcześniak has done himself. This is not to say he’s a bad player, and in some ways his profile reminds me of Tomasz Kędziora who is also in the squad, but it still strikes me as a slightly odd selection considering the context. 

I’d be surprised if Szcześniak actually gets any minutes in either game Poland will play, but nevertheless it’s an experience and we shouldn’t be quick to dismiss a useful, relatively versatile and relatively young player.

Midfield is for me the most interesting part of these call-ups. We see it looking similar to last time, with Michał Skóraś keeping his place after so ably deputising for Nicola Zalewski, also back after recovering from injury. Kacper Kozłowski also features again, as does the in-form Jakub Kamiński, whereas Przemysław Frankowski and Jakub Piotrowski miss out.

Another new face in the form of Filip Rózga is also present in this area of the squad, and I have to say I am a fan of this particular call-up. I was of the opinion that he showed a lot of promise when he played for Cracovia, but to see him kick-on again playing for Sturm Graz in Austria and in European competition makes me think he could really be a smart inclusion by Urban.

Indeed, back in the summer Urban enthused about Rózga when speaking to Meczyki, and now finds place for him in one of his squads. In my opinion Rózga is of the perfect profile to back-up Sebastian Szymański, and I hope Rózga might get to do that at some point over the course of these two matches. 

There is one thing that has been a bit of a sticking point in all the commentary around this squad, and that is the issue of no real option in defensive midfield other than Bartosz Slisz, who has kind of made that position his own now for Poland in the last few months. This wouldn’t therefore be a problem, were it not for the face he will miss the first game of this break against Holland through suspension. 

Make no mistake Slisz will be a really big miss, especially as Urban has not chosen any other notionally “defensive” midfielder in the squad. It’s possible there could be a change of formation, but why alter what has worked so well so far? Also it’s been suggested that one of the defenders, perhaps Jakub Kiwior or Przemysław Wiśniewski, could be capable of playing that “6” role. Again though, why deviate from what has been doing the business in these past few games?

In my opinion it would make more sense to have somebody like Taras Romanczuk, an experienced player with a recent history of playing for Poland, or somebody like Antoni Kozubal who has been so good both for the U-21 side and for his club. As it is, we’re probably going to see one of either Piotr Zieliński or Bartosz Kapustka entrusted to be something of a deep-lying playmaker against the Dutch, which has the capacity to work and in my opinion is the least drastic alteration to the current system that Urban could make. 

I also feel that this is where the call-up of four strikers and the aforementioned Szcześniak looks a bit useless, because there is a space there that could’ve been taken by another recognised defensive midfield option. Kozubal is the obvious “fresh” choice that could’ve been made, Romanczuk the experienced option, or even something quite left-field like another call-up for Oskar Repka or a return for Damian Szymański? If we’re taking Szcześniak because Górnik are an in-form team, why not Jarosław Kubicki? He may never have played for the senior Poland side and he is now 30, but he could be of real use in this very moment. I’d also throw Mateusz Klich into this category of “could do a job for one specific situation”, but alas Urban has seen fit to do something different, as is his right. 

Also my sympathies for Kacper Urbański, who has played well for an underperforming Legia Warszawa in recent weeks. He’s clearly moved back to Poland in order to force his way into Jan Urban’s thoughts, and I really hope it works. For the very good squad Legia have at their disposal, the results and some of the tactics employed leave a lot to be desired and I hope Urbański continues playing even as the ship piloted by Edward Iordanescu starts to sink. 

In the coming days I look forward to speaking about Poland’s preparation for these qualifiers, as well as properly previewing both matches against Holland and Malta. 

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