Why is the Poland National Team Struggling?
Since playing their first-ever match in 1921, the Poland national team has enjoyed a number of scintillating highs. The White-Reds have competed in nine different FIFA World Cups — including the last two — and finished third in the 1974 and 1982 editions, whilst they also won the gold medal in the 1972 Olympics and took home the silver in 1976.
They’ve even participated in the last five editions of the Euros, with the 2016 edition seeing them reach the knockout round for the first and only time. Poland edged Switzerland on penalties in the Round of 16 before losing in a penalty shootout to eventual winners Portugal in the quarterfinals. The Polish national team has competed in four different World Cups since the fall of communist rule in 1989, exiting the group stage in 2002 and 2006, before returning 12 years later, where they would finish bottom of their group.
However, in 2022, Poland managed to reach the knockout round of a World Cup for the first time since 1986. After drawing 0-0 to Mexico in their opening match, Poland edged Saudi Arabia 2-0 via goals from Piotr Zieliński and Robert Lewandowski, before losing 2-0 to eventual champions Argentina. Despite scoring just two goals, Poland just about squeaked into the Round of 16, where they were obliterated 3-1 by France.
They would return to a major tournament 18 months later, heading to Germany for the 2024 UEFA European Championship. Poland got off to a strong start, with Adam Buksa opening the scoring early on in their opening match, only for Cody Gakpo to level things up shortly after, whilst Wout Weghorst’s late goal snatched the victory for the Netherlands.
Their second match in Berlin would see Gernot Trauner break the deadlock after nine minutes, only for Krzysztof Piątek to equalize at the hour-mark for Poland. However, Austria would restore their lead and pull away with a 3-1 victory via goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautović, all but confirming Poland’s elimination. Their third and final group stage match would see them share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with France via penalties from Kylian Mbappé and Lewandowski, once again finishing bottom of their group.
The Biało-Czerwoni underwent a changing-of-the-guard following yet another disappointing tournament result: starting goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny hung up his boots after 84 caps, only to come out of retirement shortly after to join FC Barcelona, whilst current Pogoń Szczecin captain Kamil Grosicki also retired from international football after 94 caps.
Poland’s first game of the 2024/25 season would take place on September 5 in what would be a rollercoaster ride of a football match. Sebastian Szymański broke the deadlock after eight minutes, whilst Lewandowski doubled the lead from the penalty spot before halftime. However, Scotland would pull one back via Billy Gilmour after halftime, whilst his Napoli teammate Scott McTominay equalized in the 76th minute. Just when it seemed that the two sides would settle for a draw, Poland won a penalty at the last second which was duly converted by Nicola Zalewski.
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It seemed like a reinvigorating, fresh new start for Poland, but instead, it’s been a false dawn. Poland would lose 1-0 to Croatia and 3-1 to Portugal in their next two matches before erasing a two-goal deficit and securing a 3-3 draw against Croatia. They followed that up with a 5-1 loss in Portugal and a 2-1 defeat to Scotland. As a result, they finished bottom of their UEFA Nations League Group and were relegated to Group B, where they will be playing against opponents of decidedly lower caliber.
It brings the question: what’s going wrong with Poland? According to Polish TV analyst Janusz Michallik, it has to do with the majority of Polish footballers not playing enough at the club level. “Poland are finding it hard to produce top players because the moment a young player has half a good season in the Ekstraklasa, he’s being sold abroad where he ends up sitting on the bench,” said Michallik in an RG interview.
“There are a lot of big-name players in the Polish national team who are sitting on the bench from Piotr Zieliński, Sebastian Szymański, Jakub Moder, Nicola Zalewski…you look at the whole starting XI for Poland, almost everyone’s on the bench and not getting minutes at the club level. There’s Jakub Kiwior, who’s barely played for Arsenal. He needs to leave, he’s not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans. They’ve had so many injuries that he should’ve been getting more minutes by now than he is. They want him to go, and he needs to leave.
Another potential issue could be their constant chopping and changing of managers. Paulo Sousa became their first foreign coach since Leo Beenhakker (2006-09) when he took charge at the start of 2021, only to receive his marching orders at the end of the year. Czesław Michniewicz took the reins and guided Poland to the World Cup knockout round, only to come under severe criticism due to the team’s defensive tactics.
The writing on the wall came during a controversy regarding bonuses fo players and staff, with Michniewicz blaming the turmoil on team manager Jakub Kwiatkowski and blocking various journalists on Twitter and deleting his account. Poland turned to yet another Portuguese coach in Fernando Santos, who lasted just eight months before being dismissed. Michał Probierz took charge in September 2023, where he has remained ever since.
On paper, it seems that Poland should have no problems reaching a third straight World Cup. After all, they sit 35th in the FIFA rankings and will be trying to make it to the 48-team tournament in 2026. However, in order to do so, they’ll have to make it out of their World Cup qualifying group. Poland will compete against Malta, Lithuania, Finland as well as the loser of March’s UEFA Nations League tie between Spain and Netherlands. The group winner will book their ticket for the World Cup, whilst the runner-up will advance to the play-offs.
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / SOPA Images / LightRocket