Football: Poland in training ahead of World Cup qualifiers

Poland’s national soccer team is training in Spain ahead of its last two World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.

Poland captain Robert Lewandowski.

Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

Poland will play Andorra away from home on Friday before taking on Hungary in their last World Cup qualifying fixture in Warsaw three days later.

Manager Paulo Sousa at the start of this month released a list of 27 players called up for the two games.

The lineup includes star striker Robert Lewandowski, FIFA's world player of the year for 2020, and other regulars such as Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński and Hertha Berlin forward Krzysztof Piątek.

Fresh faces include English Premier League right-back Matty Cash, who became a Polish citizen last month.

MAMY VLOGA! 🎥🇵🇱
A w nim między innymi rozmowy z @mattycash622 oraz @Kamil_Grabara1 czy powrót do kadry @arekmilik9! Dużo się dzieje, więc nie piszemy już więcej! 😎
Dobrego oglądania! ⤵️

— Łączy nas piłka (@LaczyNasPilka) November 9, 2021

Poland last month beat Albania 1-0 away from home in a crucial 2022 World Cup qualifier, keeping alive their hopes of reaching next year's football tournament in Qatar.

After eight rounds of fixtures, Poland are in second place in their qualifying Group I, behind England, with 17 points and a plus-17 goal differential.

All group winners in European qualification automatically secure a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The qualification stage for the World Cup ends this month, while the tournament will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.

Poland had qualified for the previous World Cup in Russia, but suffered an early exit from the tournament in 2018. The Poles lost 1-2 to Senegal and 0-3 to Colombia in the group stage. They won their final game, beating Japan 1-0, but finished bottom of their Group H.

Poland finished third in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany and were also third in Spain in 1982.

(gs)

Source: PAP