Narayana Rangan's

Poland

Group A

Best finish Group Stage 2008

Current FIFA Ranking; 65

Poland the co host of Euro 2012 along with Ukraine gained automatical qaulification to Euro 2012. Drawn in a relatively easy group and the support of the home fans would make them a team to fancy a reasonable chance for the knockout stages of the Euros. A team with a relatively vulnerable defence would have to rely on its attack to give the best outcomes.

Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski is considered to be the key for them for have a good performance. Lewandowski who was not even the first choice for Dortmund after his Euro 4.5M move a year later in 2011 - 12 season scored 30 goals from 47 matches and considered as the key figure in attack at Dortmund. His team mates at Dortmund Jakub Błaszczykowski, the captain of the Polish team along with Lukasz Pisczek would be dangerous in the break. Arsenal's Wojciech Szczeny would have a lot of work to do between the bars to cover up for his defenders deficency and would probably have a busy time stopping shots of opposition.

Franciszek Smuda is sound about his teams chances as he said "of course we have a chance to progress from the group to the quaterfinals" and he also said the first game with Greece is the most important for Polish.

The Polish have good reasons to think positive as they beat Argentina 2-1 in june and a holding a strong german team to a 2-2 draw in septamber and holding the Portuguse lead by C.Ronaldo to a goalless draw in February.

Manager : Franciszek Smuda

Franciszek Smuda took over in 2009 following the sacking of Leo Beenhakker. Smuda was critised for the calling up French-born duo Damien Perquis and Ludovic Obraniak and Eugen Polanski and Sebastian Boenisch who played in Germany at U - 21 level. The reason Smuda had for this calling up is the lack of talent in Poland. Poland had divided opinion on Smuda some sections defended his decisions while some others critised for his management.

Smuda's first job after taking as the head coach was to play " offensive and attractive football".He suddenly decreased the age of the team calling up many youth players in to the Polish setup. The Poland suffered 8 games without a win but starting with a 3-1 win over Côte d'Ivoire the Poland team had a good run under Smuda winning over Argentina drawing against European superpowers like Germany and Portugal.

Formation

Franciszek Smuda would employ the 4 2 3 1 formation with Robert Lewandowski playing as the lone forward for the Euros. Jakub 'Kuba' Błaszczykowski and Obraniak will feed Lewandownski with aerial crosses for the long forward and Rafal Murawski and Polanski will play at the centre middle of the park. The team would play pressing game under Smuda but has real lack of worldclass talent in the defence hence could struggle to check the opposition and to control possession. Any how The Poland would really be a danger when on the break with Lewandowski upfront and with the pace of Kuba. Lukasz Piszczek is the key player in defence in otherwise a error prone defence of central defenders Damien Perquis, Marcin Wasilewski and the left back Jakub Wawrzyniak.

Squad for the Euros:

Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal), Przemyslaw Tyton (PSV Eindhoven), Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok)

Defenders: Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw), Marcin Kaminski (Lech Poznan), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan), Sebastian Boenisch (Werder Bremen), Damien Perquis (Sochaux).

Midfielders: Eugen Polanski (Mainz), Dariusz Dudka (Auxerre), Adam Matuszczyk (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Ludovic Obraniak (Bordeaux), Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor), Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan), Rafal Wolski (Legia Warsaw).

Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Sobiech (Hannover), Pawel Brozek (Celtic).

Key Players

Robert Lewandowski

The Borussia Dortmund Forward had a great season in front of goal having scored 30 goals for the German Bundesliga Champions from 47 games in all competition. The 23 year old spearhead of the Polish attack is easily the key player for the Poland. He main strength apart from his goal scoring abilities are his teamwork and high work rate. Lewandowski pocess good pace to outrun his opponents and is dangerous on the break. His teamwork with his Dortmund team mates Piszczek and Kuba has been extra ordinary. The long polish is a aerial threat in the box and his off the ball movements are threat to the opposition. He is happy to move around the box when not in possession and looks to sneak in his teammates to space with his dummy moves. The main hopes of the Poland team and the Polish fans rely on the shoulders of the young forward.

Lewandowski's sense of positioning is not his advantages and the pressure on his shoulders would be an added weight to the 23 year old forward.

Wojciech Szczesny

The 23 year old shot stopper of Arsenal is oen of the main elements for the Polish chance of making through groupstages. The brave 195cm shotstopper has good command of his area. He is excellent in dealing with crosses and highballs in to the penalty area.His ability to rush out along with his bravery makes him a hard goalkeeper to beat. The young cool goalkeeper has the potential to serve the Poland many years to come. He is a cool, collected young man and he goes into the tournament as one of the stand-out goalkeepers.

Key to Quaterfinals - Performance of Defence

The defence looks weak on paper but the Polish defence have a good defensive record in the friendlies the played. The Polish defence have keptin check the attackers of Portugal, Mexico, Argentin, German, France.The Borussia Dortmund rightback Lukasz Piszczekas been the star performer of the defence so far. Wasilewski is a dependable defender. While he not the quickest, he has a good positional sense and is a tough opponent. The 26 year old Werder Bremen left back Sebastian Boenisch has good pace which would help them in the break. The chance of Poland making to the Quaterfinals heavily rely on its defence.

UEFA EURO 2012 Group A fixtures
Friday 8 June: Poland v Greece, 18.00 CET, Warsaw

Friday 8 June 21.30 IST Neo Prime
Tuesday 12 June: Poland v Russia, 20.45CET, Warsaw

Wednesday 13 June: 00.1 5IST,
Saturday 16 June: Czech Republic v Poland, 20.45CET, Wroclaw

Sunday 17 June: 00.15IST,