Outright Odds: a hundred twenty five/one
Group A Winners: 4/1
Adhering to a disastrous 2002 Globe Cup campaign through which coach Jerzy Engel talked up his sides prospective clients just for them being overwhelmed two-0 by South Korea and hammered 4-0 by Portugal, Poland will be keen to recreate their former World Cup glories.
Less than mentor Pawel Janas, Poland made brief do click here the job of their qualifying team, enjoying household and away victories from Austria, Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Wales. Two slim 2-1 defeats to England prevented a clean sweep but eight wins out of ten matches was in excess of plenty of to cement their place from the finals.
In qualifying they proved their capacity to beat regular teams convincingly and they will need to repeat this to the grand phase When they are to repeat their wonderful strategies of 1974 and 1982 through which they completed 3rd. Having said that, Additionally they really need to establish they've what it will require to beat the more robust sides as they did in 1974, when Argentina, Italy, Sweden and Yugoslavia had been dispatched in advance of beating Brazil to say 3rd position.
They unquestionably provide the firepower to do so and Polands principal toughness lies in assault. In the course of qualifying they cracked in 27 objectives, notably the 8-0 thrashing of Azerbaijan and scored at least after in all 10 of their qualifying matches. A lot more importantly, they scored 10 in excess of team winners England managed for all their multi-million lbs worth of strikers and only three sides scored far more aims in comparison to the Poles all through the eu qualifying marketing campaign.
Elche striker Tomasz Frankowski, nicknamed The Ambitions Hunter and Celtic ahead Maciej Zurawski fired in fourteen objectives in between them for the duration of qualifying whilst Southamptons Grzegorz Rasiak is usually in contention.
Poland are a side that isn't wanting knowledge. The anticipated starting off line-up has an average age of around 30 whilst Jacek Krzynowek, Jamil Kosowski and Radolsaw Kaluzny have all performed during the German Bundesliga. 4 several years in the past the team struggled to cope Together with the climate in Korea and Japan but will have no such troubles this time when earning the brief trip in excess of the border into Germany.
Their only actual weakness is for the again wherever they have created a habit of conceding comfortable objectives that can not go unpunished after they facial area a workforce in scientific temper.
Poland have been given a favourable attract during which they should arguably conquer both Ecuador and Costa Rica Using the community derby fixture from Germany sandwiched between. The dismal failure of 4 several years in the past signifies the Poles can't be backed confidently to gain Group A, Whilst they are powerful adequate to qualify from it.
Poland to qualify from Group A @ eight/15
Poland to conquer Costa Rica @ 4/five