World Cup Group A Preview: Poland
Arguably the biggest shock regarding Poland’s World Cup 2006 campaign came when coach Pawel Janas announced his final squad for the competition and left out national hero and Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek and seven goal qualifying hero Tomasz Frankowski.
Dudek was gutted to learn of his exclusion from a live TV announcement and the sense of bewilderment at himself and Frankowski missing out was matched by the general Polish public who called it irresponsible and “a slaughter of the stars of Polish football”.
Whether Janas is found to have been correct in his selections will all be decided on the pitch, firstly against Ecuador then Germany then Costa Rica. The Poles will still fancy their chances in all three games after a successful qualifying campaign which saw them net 27 goals in ten games in a campaign full of good team spirit.
The lack of first team football for many of the squad could be a determining factor though and with Jerzy Dudek the first big casualty of a lack of regular club football, there could be even more serious results for the Polish squad than a missing goalkeeper.
The Ecuador and Costa Rica group games will be vital as to how far Poland can go.
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POSTED IN: Past World Cups
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