Special Envoy of the Observer in Doha, Qatar
After the controversial departure of Paulo Sousa from Poland to join Flamengo (an adventure that did not last more than five months), Czelaw Michniewicz rose from the Under-21s to take the reins of the team with a great mission: to guarantee qualification for the World Cup. Or in this case, given all the punishment Russia has received for invading Ukraine, winning a real final against Sweden. He got. However, the way he got there turned out to also be the start of his game, of the competition, and perhaps of his best player. He still has a ways to go until the US-Mexico-Canada joint organization in 2026, but until then Much will be said about where Poland is and how far you project that you can reach this stage.
36 years later, Orly reached the second stage of the competition again, something that equaled the team’s best result in World Cups in the last four decades. Gone are the days when Boniek and company’s Poland managed to reach the semi-finals and also for that reason there was a feeling of accomplishment in achieving that goal. Nevertheless, the way it got there was “short”. It was short because the exhibition against Mexico left a lot to be desired, it was short because the match against Saudi Arabia could have gone to the other side of Szczesny if they hadn’t saved a penalty, it was short because Argentina didn’t leave the slightest bit of reaction capacity . With one more goal, Mexico would have gone through, even if the game by the Poles on the pitch of Estadio 974 pointed in another direction. With France, they descended into reality.
The excessively defensive position of the team was critical on many occasions and it was evident again in the round of 16 match, with Lewandowski lost to a 4x1x4x1 that left his closest teammates 20 meters or more from the striker, having three added value on the bench to do. he matches with the player on offense. If that first-half chance by Zielisnki and Frankowski went down in game history it might be different, but that wouldn’t mean Poland would be better than they’ve ever been at this World Cup: short. although having scored two of the team’s three goals in four matches, With a missed penalty for the Mexicans and another for the Gauls that was later repeated due to an irregularity by Lloris, Robert Lewandowski was a bit excited. But, despite the fact that he is 34 years old, this may not have been his last World Cup.
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Source: Observadora
