Poland join the Euro 2024 party but what chance do they have in Group D?
Poland join the Euro 2024 party but what chance do they have in Group D?
FotMob - March 27, 2024, 10:12 PM
And so it took a terrible penalty at the end of nine excellent ones to supply the final qualifying nation for Euro 2024. Wojciech Szczęsny had got nowhere near four; Danny Ward watched five fly past him. Then Dan James’ weak effort was parried away, the Dragons were slain and Poland were booking tickets to Germany. Michał Probierz’s side will be in Group D with Netherlands, France and Austria and, on the evidence of their route to the tournament, have a lot of work on to ensure they are there for anything more than making up the numbers.
By Karl Matchett
While Poland’s fortunate eventual progression to Germany ‘24 came courtesy of their Nations League adventures, Probierz has at least improved results since taking over. Draws in qualifying with Moldova and Czech Republic can hardly be described as encouraging, but the defeats stopped – Poland and Moldova both beat them before Fernando Santos was finally fired – and the defence has been more resolute.
Employing a back three system, Probierz has seen his team concede three in six games, albeit not against elite nations: Wales are the best outfit they’ve faced, while clean sheets against Latvia and Faroe Islands come with the usual asterisks of expectancy.
It’s perhaps at the other end of the pitch where the new head coach has started to knit matters together a little more notably, giving one or two players the platform to impress.
The switch to 3-5-2 has seen Nicola Zalewski in particular come to the fore, operating as left wing-back. The Roma youngster didn’t have his most productive outing against Wales, in terms of end product, but was constantly an outlet and a ball-carrier for a team which can often look one-paced and lacking real dynamism. While he naturally has a fight on his hands for minutes at club level, he has a good success rate in dribbles for Roma this term – 52% with 13 successes – and his work rate is evident from winning 70% of his tackles and 55% of all duels in Serie A this term. On the international front, 250 minutes in Euros qualifying is not a huge body of work and he’s only won 16 caps all told so far, but averaging more than one shot on target every 90 minutes, 1.81 chances created, and 2.9 successful dribbles all highlight how quickly he has come integral to their build-up play.
On the opposite flank, Przemysław Frankowski was maybe the pick of the bunch against Wales, with seven defensive actions and seven recoveries stacking up as well in one half of the pitch as his six passes into the final third and constant dangerous deliveries from wide did in the other.
Yet there’s work to be done to ensure the wide threat can provide ammunition for those who can take the chances. Robert Lewandowski’s powers are very much on the wane and he was rarely involved against the Welsh, having failed to score from eight shots against Finland in the semi. He’ll still lead the line over summer and is captain of the team, but Probierz must decide on the best way to get the most out of the 35-year-old. Karol Świderski is the current partner of choice for him but isn’t a regular goalscorer himself, with a one-in-three strike rate at international level coming largely courtesy of minnows: Andorra, San Marino and Moldova make up 40% of his international goals.
In the 120 minutes at the Cardiff City Stadium, Poland mustered precisely zero shots on target, tallied an xG of 0.45 and created only one really notable chance. All this against a goalkeeper who isn’t a regular at club level and a back three who, while resilient and well-organised, are individually of a considerably lower level than Virgil van Dijk or Dayot Upamecano, who they’ll be up against in summer.
It’s very difficult to look at this Poland squad and surmise they will have put the pieces together sufficiently by June to get out of Group D. Even a third-place finish will require them to beat Austria, almost certainly, and then snare a reasonable result elsewhere.
It can be argued that qualification for this summer’s Euros is, to an extent, a farce. Norway for example finished third in their group on 11 points – exactly the same as Poland in theirs. The Scandinavians were not handed a play-off path for a second chance; Georgia – who finished behind them in the same group – were, and have sealed their berth at the tournament. Now Poland have become another lucky loser by beating Wales, a nation who won more points than Poland did in qualifying, yet will be left watching on.
Probierz could hardly have walked into a more fortunate situation; now it’s up to him to make the most of that chance and style this team with some promise, but little impact, into a contender to knock out a heavyweight.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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4 takeaways from Match international break: Endrick the superstar, Germany's revival & more
March offered the chance for nations to clash ahead of Euro 2024
Germany proved successful, winning both of their fixtures
England were unable to secure a victory in either game
By Katie Catherall
12:00 AM GMT
March taught us much about some big nations
March taught us much about some big nations / FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images, Marc Atkins/Getty Images, Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images
While many dread the international break and the subsequent lack of club football, there is one thing the March break proved good for: weighing up how teams may perform in upcoming tournaments.
There were some surprise results this month, as some of the biggest nations in the world went head to head for some good old 'friendly' football. Germany impressed with two wins, whereas England went without a victory.
Without further ado, here are 90min's four takeaways from the March internationals.
Endrick is undeniable talent
Endrick Felipe
Endrick proved an incredible talent / Mateo Villalba/GettyImages
It's hard to believe this star is just 17 years old, but the world has now been given their first taste of Endrick and it certainly won't be the last we see of him.
He scored the only goal of the game at Wembley against the Three Lions and then confessed his admiration for legend Sir Bobby Charlton, capturing the hearts of football fans everywhere.
Both his performances were outstanding during the break, but his real moment came when he bagged a goal just five minutes into his Santiago Bernabeu debut. He's set to arrive at Real Madrid in summer, so expect that goal to be his first of many in the famous old stadium.
Lamine Yamal deserved his name on the scoresheet
Lamine Yamal
Yamal received a standing ovation / Mateo Villalba/GettyImages
Another youngster bursting with talent, Lamine Yamal deserved a goal after his impeccable performances for Spain against both Colombia and Brazil.
He won his sixth cap for his country when facing Brazil on Tuesday, and then received a standing ovation as he left the Bernabeu - a gesture that doesn't happen often, particular when you're on the books at Barcelona.
After these outings, Yamal has to be starting in Spain's attack for Euro 2024.
Germany are a bit good
Niclas Fuellkrug, David Raum, Benjamin Henrichs
Germany won both their friendly fixtures / Stuart Franklin/GettyImages
Germany established themselves as a force to be reckoned with before they host Euro 2024 in summer. Wins over both Spain and Netherlands signified a potential revival under new boss Julian Nagelsmann.
The team lacks a world class striker, sure, but Niclas Fullkrug does have a good record for the nation. Goals also came from Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz and Maximilian Mittelstadt proving that there are plenty of routes to goal for the current Germany side.
Their recent tournament have been are pretty dire, but it seems that Die Mannschaft might finally be turning a corner.
Is football coming home?
England squad
England have the talent to do well in Germany / Catherine Ivill/GettyImages
England have the talent, the experience and the skill to win Euro 2024. Their performances during the break didn't show that, but they were without key players that largely impact their games.
There's a chance we'll all be singing 'Southgate you're the one' in a few months time, at least throughout the group stages.
However, Gareth Southgate's side still have a poor record in big games against strong opposition, adding the loss to Brazil and draw with Belgium to that tally. They have arguably the most exciting selection of attackers in the world, and will need to pull out all the stops if they are to finally win a major tournament this summer.
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