Stung Poland to pose 'passionate' challenge to England U21s’ semi-final qualification hopes
England and hosts Poland meet tonight with a place in the last four up for grabs
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Your support makes all the difference.England are on the cusp of securing themselves a place in the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championship, but closing out the required three points to join Spain in the upcoming eliminatory phases will not come easily against Poland.
Not to get caught up in the moment is the stock reply before high-stakes matches, and that has been the line toed by Young Lions coach Aidy Boothroyd, who is aware of the dangers facing host nations present. On top of needing to meet native expectations, Poland are battling to stay in the tournament while fighting for their own pride.
“The country is pretty disappointed with the Polish team so far,” Przeglad Sportowy writer Marcin Dobosz told the Independent.
“We still remember the demons of a painful loss in Euro 2012, which we co-hosted, and sadly, Marcin Dorna’s team is on the verge of repeating it.”
Five years ago, Poland’s senior team crashed out of the European Championship at the bottom of their group. Drawing twice with Greece and Russia, after losing at the hands of the Czech Republic, ensured they finished the competition without a win - an unthinkable failure.
It is a wound with scars that remain. The home supporters are prepared to live vicariously through the conciliatory successes of their young stars.
Except not all of these players have not been handed the domestic game-time they deserve. The Premier League is home to one of Poland’s brightest prospects, Bartosz Kapustka, but Leicester City’s ‘little cabbage’ has struggled for minutes with the club and, as a result, has seen his development hindered. The 20 year old is not the only victim of his domestic circumstances.
“Some of the key players are in bad shape, they had problems with finding regular playing time at their respective clubs,” Dobosz added.
“Mariusz Stepinski is one: he should be one of the leaders. Pawel Dawidowicz is another that I like very much, but he has to face the ugly truth that he isn’t the same player he was before a recent thigh injury - he will be benched today.”
“One to watch, however, is Dawid Kownacki. He was suspended against Slovakia due to a red card in under-19 qualifying a long time ago, which has fired him up and had the best possible effect - he grabbed both a goal and an assist against Sweden.”
With their brightest prospects suffering from a lack of exposure to first-team football, it has been left to other players within Dorna’s squad to step up to the plate. Przemyslaw Frankowski and Lukasz Moneta have been unexpectedly utilised, and the pair have repaid the faith placed in them by their coach, but it hasn’t been enough to paper over some obvious cracks.
Goalkeeper Jakub Wrabel has been guilty of some erratic goalkeeping in the hosts’ opening two fixtures, but a lack of an alternative means that their nerve-wracking first choice will continue against the Young Lions. Tammy Abraham is yet to get on the scoresheet in Poland, but that hasn’t meant that his contributions and attributes haven’t been readily noted.
“If I had to pick out the most dangerous English player, I’d stick with Tammy Abraham. He is strong, bright and quick, he will cause Poland a lot of problems - it is a shame that he won’t ever get a proper chance at Chelsea.
“Poland usually fail when it comes to winning such high-stakes game. Sometimes they can play beautiful football but a loss is still that, a loss,” Dobosz admitted.
Attendances have been high at both of Poland’s group matches, with the combination of national pride and low ticket prices having the desired effect. In Kielce, this sentiment will only be intensified. Polish backs are to the wall, and England are all too aware of the dangers of failing to properly estimate their foe.
Three points would secure Boothroyd’s men safe passage onwards but the side have already dipped their toes in failure’s waters, having initially gone behind to Slovakia in their second Group A fixture. Goals from Swansea’s Alfie Mawson and Southampton’s Nathan Redmond snatched a 2-1 win after staring down the barrel of defeat and potential elimination. And Boothroyd has now warned his players not to get caught up in the “Polish passion” on Thursday night.
“The Polish team have been unfortunate in their games,” Boothroyd explained at England’s pre-match press conference.
“They have some good players who will give us problems, they’ve got massive heart and they start games really quickly, you can see that they never give in and they keep working for their country.
“We’re in the driving seat, so we’ve got to make sure we do our job and don’t get caught up in all of the Polish passion.”
Just as English talent is often expected to fall at the final hurdle in international competitions, as a result of a perceived collective weakness in their psychological make-up, Poland have the echoes of their country’s recent failures flitting around in the back of their own minds. Fractures in their camp have already emerged, with Arsenal defender Kristian Bielik forced to apologise for criticising his coach after an opening day defeat to Slovakia.
The history books are there to be ignored, but one of these new generations will be forced to tread the dark path taken by past compatriots once again.
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