Back at the World Cup finals for the first time since 2006, Poland’s chances of a positive showing in Russia hinge, as ever, on the goalscoring prowess of skipper Robert Lewandowski, who found the net an outrageous 16 times during the qualifying competition – a tally that included three hat-tricks (against Denmark, Romania and Armenia).
Like every other member of Adam Nawałka’s squad bar one – goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański – Lewandowski will be travelling to his first World Cup finals. Most of the players will draw on the experience of Euro 2016, where Poland reached the quarter-finals and lost out only on penalties to eventual winners Portugal.
I have done some thorough research on the international careers of the 23 players who will carry Poland’s hopes in Russia and unearthed a few noteworthy facts and stats that are listed below.
I am compiling similar information on the other 13 European teams in the build-up to the Big Kick-off on Thursday, June 14. Most of the others can already be found on the site.
Here is the Poland squad with the players’ current club, caps and goals:
Goalkeepers
Bartosz Białkowski (Ipswich, 1/0), Łukasz Fabiański (Swansea, 43/0), Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus, 33/0)
Defenders
Jan Bednarek (Southampton, 1/0), Bartosz Bereszyński (Sampdoria, 6/0), Thiago Cionek (SPAL, 17/0), Kamil Glik (Monaco, 58/4), Artur Jędrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw, 35/3), Michał Pazdan (Legia Warsaw, 31/0), Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund, 61/3)
Midfielders
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Wolfsburg, 97/19), Jacek Góralski (Ludogorets Razgrad, 3/0), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City, 56/12), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Paris-SG, 49/2), Rafał Kurzawa (Górnik Zabrze, 3/0), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria, 19/1), Sławomir Peszko (Lechia Gdańsk, 43/2), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow, 49/2), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli, 31/4)
Forwards
Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria, 1/0), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, 93/52), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli, 38/12), Łukasz Teodorczyk (Anderlecht, 15/4)
The total number of international caps gained by the 23 players is 783. The number of caps gained in competitive fixtures (i.e. World Cup and Euro matches) is 378. The number of caps gained at final tournaments is 67. The number of caps gained at the World Cup finals is 0.
The total number of international goals scored by the 23 players is 120. The number of goals scored in competitive fixtures is 73. The number of goals scored at final tournaments is 6. The number of goals scored at the World Cup finals is 0.
The number of players in the squad appearing at their first final tournament is 7. The number of players appearing at their first World Cup is 22.
There are 15 survivors from the Euro 2016 squad: Fabiański, Szczęsny, Cionek, Glik, Jędrzejczyk, Pazdan, Piszczek, Błaszczykowski, Grosicki, Krychowiak, Linetty, Peszko, Zieliński, Lewandowski and Milik.
There are 6 survivors from the Euro 2012 squad: Szczęsny, Piszczek, Błaszczykowski, Grosicki, Rybus and Lewandowski.
There are 3 survivors from the Euro 2008 squad: Fabiański, Pazdan and Piszczek.
There is 1 survivor from the 2006 World Cup squad: Fabiański.
Fabiański and Piszczek are attending their fourth final tournament. It is a third for Szczęsny, Pazdan, Błaszczykowski, Grosicki and Lewandowski.
Piszczek, Błaszczykowski and Lewandowski have played the most final tournament matches: eight (all at Euro finals).
Although Fabiański was a member of Poland’s 2006 World Cup squad, he did not enter the field of play. No member of the 2018 party, therefore, has played at a previous World Cup final tournament.
Four squad members have yet to feature in a competitive international – Białkowski, Góralski, Kurzawa and Kownacki.
Six players have appeared in over 25 competitive internationals. Their records are as follows:
Błaszczykowski – Pld 52 W24 D15*! L13 (of which at final tournaments Pld 8 W2 D5*! L1)
Lewandowski – Pld 46 W21 D14*! L11 (Pld 8 W2 D5*! L1)
Glik – Pld 31 W16 D10*! L5 (Pld 5 W2 D3*! L0)
Piszczek – Pld 31 W15 D11*! L5 (Pld 5 W2 D3*! L0)
Krychowiak – Pld 31 W17 D10*! L4 (Pld 5 W2 D3*! L0)
Grosicki – Pld 28 W17 D7*! L4 (Pld 6 W2 D3*! L1)
* draw followed by penalty shoot-out victory
! draw followed by penalty shoot-out defeat
Lewandowski is far and away the leading scorer in competitive internationals, with 36 of the squad’s total of 73 goals. Błaszczykowski, on ten, is the only other player in double figures.
Lewandowski has scored 21 World Cup qualifying goals (in 28 appearances) – three more than all the other players in the squad put together. Again, Błaszczykowski is the next best, with six.
In terms of goals scored at final tournaments, however, Błaszczykowski leads the way with three – one more than Lewandowski, neither of whose two strikes have contributed to wins. The only other squad member to have scored a tournament goal is Milik (one).
Piszczek’s three international goals have all come in World Cup fixtures.
Poland have yet to lose a competitive international in which either Błaszczykowski or Milik have scored.
Two players – Zieliński and Lewandowski- started all ten of Poland’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers, with the latter uniquely playing from start to finish in every game. Błaszczykowski also featured in all ten matches, with one of his appearances made as a substitute.
Lewandowski’s 16-goal haul in 2018 World Cup qualifying was the best in Europe, edging out Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo by one. Only one other Poland player contributed more than one goal to the team total of 28 – Grosicki with three.
None of the 23 players has ever played a senior international against any of Poland’s three Group H rivals – Senegal, Colombia and Japan.
There are four Polish Ekstraklasa players in the World Cup party, including two from double winners Legia Warsaw.
The other 19 players have been selected from nine European nations, including Russia, where Maciej Rybus is a newly-crowned domestic champion with Lokomotiv Moscow. Italy has provided the largest contingent – seven, including three from Sampdoria and two from Napoli.
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