NewsNational Team A
Jerzy Brzęczek: We want to stay in the first seeding pot
Both the match with the Czech Republic and with Portugal will be very important for us. We would like to stay in the first seeding pot because it will have a big impact on the system of drawing of the European Championship qualifiers which will start as soon as in March of the upcoming year - said Jerzy Brzęczek, the head coach of the Polish national team, at the press conference starting the November national team training camp.
About tactics and plans for November matches:
"This is the last training camp before the March qualifiers. There are always a lot of plans to implement, but we have some time limits. We also need to pay attention to the training load because our players play many matches in their clubs, both in league competitions and UEFA club competitions. In addition, there are matches in the national team. We will watch everyone carefully and have an individual approach to each player. Certainly, we will devote more attention to tactics during this national team training camp. I confirm that we are returning to the game in our basic formation, i.e. 1-4-4-2 or 1-4-2-3-1. In October matches we were looking for other solutions, but it didn't work very well. When we changed the system after the half-time and let the wingers play, we immediately played much better. Therefore, we will now focus on the improvement of this system which, in the opinion of all of us, is the best solution for our national team. We are not going to make many changes in terms of team composition but everything will depend on the players' health status. We treated the previous matches of the national team very seriously and we are going to take the same approach during the matches we are about to play. We are a bit in a dilemma now. There are several experienced players in the team on whom we will count, but we also want to let some new blood into the team and give young players a chance to play. I assure you that in March we will have a team ready for great challenges.
About the left side of the defence in the national team:
"Health problems of our players result in the fact that we can't play in the optimal formation. Maciej Rybus had been treating his injury for a long time but on Sunday he played in a league match. It was a big surprise for us because Maciek was in Warsaw last week, underwent tests and was supposed to train individually for ten more days, and only then join the training plan of the team. However, the coach of Lokomotiv Moscow decided that he needs Rybus during the match against Rubin Kazan. He played on painkillers. I hope it will not have any health consequences. We are waiting for Maciej to return to full form and then we will surely take advantage of it. Now we need to focus on the players we have at our disposal. There are a few debutants. I want to watch both Hubert Matynia and Adam Buksa carefully. We will see what they will look like in comparison to the best Polish football players.
About the idea concerning Adam Buksa:
"We have been monitoring him for a long time. I know Adam as we worked together in Lechia Gdańsk. He has great potential. I have some thoughts and I would like Buksa to play a position different than number 9, because otherwise it would be hard for him to show what he can.
About Łukasz Skorupski and Wojciech Szczęsny:
"According to our arrangements, we want Łukasz to play from the first minute during the match against the Czech Republic on Thursday. If he doesn't get injured, we will not change our concept. Wojciech Szczęsny, who defended a penalty kick at a very important moment in a Sunday match against Milan, is also in great disposition. Wojtek also did well in the last match against Italy. I'm glad that we have the comfort of choosing the goalkeeper. We have only world-class specialists in this area.
About Karol Linetty who wasn't called up:
"This time we decided not to call him up but please do not treat it as we were giving up on him. Kamil Grosicki was not in the national team earlier, and now Thiago Cionek, who hasn't played in the national team since the World Cup, is returning to us. If Karol presents good shape in the club, he will also be called up to the national team.
About the Czech national football team:
"On Thursday we will play a difficult match against demanding rivals who have many good players. The Czechs also have their own problems and a new head coach. We will face an interesting test. I hope that the beautiful stadium in Gdańsk will fill up to the last seat. We need the support of our fans. I used to work in Lechia and I have many good memories related to that club.
Paweł Drażba
