Poland have been dealt a major blow ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against England after captain Robert Lewandowski was ruled out with a knee injury.
The Bayern Munich striker scored a late equaliser in the 3-3 draw against Hungary last week before scoring twice in the 3-0 win over Andorra on Sunday.
However, he will play no part at Wembley, with the Polish FA confirming the 32-year-old suffered ligament damage in his right knee after being substituted off in the second half against Andorra.
Lewandowski is set to be out for five to 10 days, meaning he could also miss Bayern’s crucial Bundesliga match at RB Leipzig on Saturday. Bayern currently top the table by four points ahead of Leipzig.
And while Bayern prepare for the possibility of no Lewandowski on the weekend, with the striker scoring 35 of their 78 league goals so far this term, Poland must now make plans on how to beat England without their all-time record goalscorer.
Milik and Piatek in?
Poland have started with two players up front in their opening two qualifiers so far this month, with manager Paulo Sousa operating a 3-4-1-2 against Hungary before switching to a 4-4-2 diamond against Andorra.
With England in mind, Sousa is more likely to revert to the defensive-minded 3-4-1-2, which features two defensive midfielders, and in attack he could go for a straight swap and bring in the man who replaced Lewandowski in the second half against Andorra.
Karol Swiderski made his Poland debut from the bench on Sunday and, like Ollie Watkins for England last week, the 24-year-old got on the scoresheet in his first appearance for his country. The striker earned his first call-up after scoring nine times for PAOK in the Greek Super League 1 this season.
Poland’s attacking options
- Krzysztof Piatek – 17 caps, 8 goals
- Karol Swiderski – 1 cap, 1 goal
- Arkadiusz Milik – 58 caps, 15 goals
Swiderski could therefore partner Krzysztof Piatek, the 25-year-old striker whose form for Genoa in late 2018 earned him a move to Milan in January 2019.
Piatek left a year later after a slow start to the 2019-20 season with Milan, joining Bundesliga outfit Hertha, where he has scored six times this term.
With eight goals in 17 games for Poland, Piatek was most recently on target against Hungary last week, where he came on as a second-half substitute, before starting against Andorra on Sunday.
For the Hungary match, Lewandowski was paired up with Arkadiusz Milik, who could return to a forward role having dropped back to attacking midfield against Andorra.
Milik, on loan at Marseille from Napoli, could rival Swiderski for a place alongside Piatek, and would certainly be the more experienced option having made 58 appearances for Poland, scoring 15 times.
Pushing Milik back up front would likely see Napoli’s Piotr Zielinski play in attacking midfield, with Grzegorz Krychowiak, formerly of West Brom, and Brighton’s Jakub Moder starting behind Zielinski – as they both did against Hungary.
Poland also have a plethora of wingers in their squad, with Derby’s Kamil Jozwiak among them, so too West Brom’s Kamil Grosicki and Norwich’s Przemyslaw Placheta.
Jozwiak started against Andorra, while Grosicki has appeared 82 times for his country and came off the bench against both Hungary and Andorra.
For Jozwiak or Grosicki to start on Wednesday, manager Sousa would probably have to tweak his tactics and play one striker in a 3-4-2-1 formation, or switch back to a 4-2-3-1 which they used for the majority of their Nations League matches last year.
Plenty to ponder, then, for Poland and Sousa, but also a chance for their forwards to impress in Lewandowski’s absence ahead of this summer’s Euros – where they face Spain, Sweden and Slovakia in Group E.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cC5w8N
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