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WWhen Paulo Sousa, Poland’s new manager, feared Robert Lewandowski would miss the World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley due to the coronavirus quarantine rules, it was the prompt for an emotional appeal .
“The best players absolutely have to be on the pitch and especially during this pandemic where football plays an important role for the majority of families,” Sousa said. “Because football is an emotion and, if you can feed people all the emotions that football conveys, you can reduce all that mental instability in these families, especially for 90 minutes. Having all the best players available is better for life right now.
Lewandowski secured an exemption from the mandatory 14-day quarantine he faced on his return from the UK to Germany, where he plays for Bayern Munich, and the relief in Poland was palpable. And yet, history twisted again, the forward injuring his knee in the 3-0 win over Andorra on Sunday night to pull him out of the draw against England.
It was impossible to disentangle the superstar striker from this game. The bill had been Harry Kane of England against Lewandowski, England against Poland against Lewandowski or, frankly, England against Lewandowski. There is now a gap, a big gap, and the balance of power has shifted sharply in England’s favor.
Optimists in Poland noted how legendary Wlodzimierz Lubanski missed the World Cup qualifying trip to Wembley in 1973 due to injury and everyone knows how it worked. Could Lewandowski’s absence be a sign? The reality, however, is that being without him isn’t better for Sousa’s life or for anyone in camp Poland.
Gareth Southgate remains suspicious. The England manager knows Poland is not ranked 19th in the world because of one player. Sousa can call on Arkadiusz Milik of Napoli, on loan from Marseille, and Krzysztof Piatek of Hertha Berlin – pedigree strikers, whom Southgate checked during his pre-match press briefing, as well as the midfielder, Piotr Zielinski, also from Naples.
Lokomotiv Moscow’s Grzegorz Krychowiak, meanwhile, is back after returning a negative Covid test. The midfielder had tested positive on Tuesday morning and, at that time, was absent. Sousa had to face chaos.
For Southgate, it’s all about the concentration and professionalism of its players, not to start assuming anything. Perhaps the last 15 minutes of Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Albania in Tirana remains on his mind, when he felt his players had stopped a bit and told them so. It was a timely reminder of the need to maintain standards.
Balance is the buzzword in every way. Southgate must deal with the unusual situation of having to win or, certainly not lose, a crucial World Cup qualifier and, at the same time, fine-tune their options ahead of the delayed Euro 2020 final this summer. The next time he names a team it will be for the tournament, and it was significant to hear Declan Rice agree that Poland’s visit represented a final audition.
Southgate, for its part, argued that “if we do not take charge of the [World Cup qualifying] group tomorrow… this young group of players will not have the opportunity to play in a major final. We have to make sure we get it right. “
Arguably the most pressing question facing Southgate is the balance of his squad, between the number of attacking and defensive players, which determines whether to play an extra midfielder or three center halves and the notion wider the importance of playing. entertain instead of just winning.
Rice is an interesting talker on the subject, not least because he’s part of a West Ham side that seems to have eschewed the traditional club way and instead focused on well-trained and winning football. They sit fifth in the Premier League.
Rice said he sometimes marveled at training in front of the England squad’s attacking talent – ‘dizzy’ was the word he used – and he mentioned how much he enjoyed watching his teammate English Phil Foden playing for Manchester City. But what it was about now, he added, was “to step onto the international stage and put it in a trophy”.
Southgate is under pressure to include Foden, Mason Mount and Jack Grealish in the Euros – and play a four-way rather than a three-way comeback – but whichever way you slice it up, it feels tough, especially as long as he’s keeping it faith in Raheem Sterling, Kane and Marcus. Rashford as his first three. Could Mount play alongside Rice in a two-to-top central midfielder? Southgate does not seem convinced. Would he play Foden or Grealish in the # 8 or even # 10 roles? Unlikely.
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It comes down to balance and, also, mentality. “There are certain factors that make winning teams,” Southgate said. “Recognize the stages of games when making the right decisions – when to keep possession, when to rest with the ball, [when] so as not to allow opposition counter-attacks by some of your positions.
“When I looked at the French and Portuguese teams who won, they are savvy and experienced. This is something we need to add.
“We have an environment that I love, with senior players who are happy to share information and help young people develop, but we have to deliver. This is the next challenge for this team. “
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