Polish hopes rest on Robert Lewandowski
Poland is fighting on Monday (6:00 p.m. CEST / live ORF one) in St. Petersburg against Slovakia for a good start in the European Football Championship. Striker star Robert Lewandowski and Co. have no good memories of opening games at major tournaments. Since 2002 there has been no victory five times in six attempts. The greater experience in the finals speaks for the Poles. The game is very important, because in Group E there are also tournament favorites Spain and Sweden.
Poland's performance is closely linked to Lewandowski's performance. The 32-year-old holds 66 goals after 118 international matches and was in top form with 48 goals in 40 competitive games including a new league goal record (41) in the past season. “You represent the pride of a nation and are an inspiration for millions of people in Poland,” said team boss Paulo Sousa to his attacker when he took office in January. So the pressure on Lewandowski's shoulders is enormous.
That was mostly the case in the past and has not had any beneficial effect. He only scored once at the European Championships in 2012 and 2016, and not at all at the 2018 World Cup. The Slovaks have good prerequisites for it to stay that way, as a central defender is one of the figureheads with Milan Skriniar. After winning the championship title with Inter Milan, the 26-year-old competes with a lot of self-confidence.
The Slovaks were most recently represented at the finals at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2016 and mastered the group stage before they reached the last sixteen. Midfielder and captain Marek Hamsik already played a major role in these two events and now wants to show once again that he is not yet old iron. With 26 goals he is the record scorer in his country and also the player with the most appearances with 126 games. In March he had joined IFK Göteborg in order to gain match practice after an engagement in China before the European Championship.
The fact that the Slovaks are allowed to participate in the European Championship at all was due to the detour of the Nations League play-off after missing the European Championship qualification. “We worked hard to be there and we can't wait for it to start. A great challenge awaits us,” said Slovakia team principal Stefan Tarkovic. His team also go into the duel as an “outsider” due to the poorer world ranking position. “But I think the squads are pretty even,” the 48-year-old calculated.
A good start can be half the battle due to the new mode, which also promotes four out of six thirds in the group. “That is clear, but we lost in France in 2016 in the first game against Wales and we still got promoted,” recalled Tarkovic. The two teams will meet in a competition game for the first time since 2009.
The Poles are not counting on a sure-fire success. “Slovakia has a well-organized team that defends very well in the block, is dangerous in the game of transition and also very strong in set pieces,” warned Poland team boss Paulo Sousa. “It won't be easy, we can't afford to make mistakes.”
