Poland accept they are favourites to win their Euro 2020 Group E opener against Slovakia on Monday but must improve their poor record in tournament opening games, coach Paulo Sousa said on Sunday.
The Poles have failed five out of six times to win their first match at the World Cup or the Euros this century.
“If we have the same mentality tomorrow as our opponent, the quality players we have can make us go home with three points,” Sousa told reporters.
Sousa is a former Portugal international who took over as Poland coach in January.
“The process of team building is ongoing,” Sousa said. “For me, it is a double responsibility to represent Poland – it is a duty for me to make all Poles feel proud.”
Poland‘s biggest weapon should be European Golden Boot winner Robert Lewandowski, but Sousa must cope without two other big names in his attack because Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piatek are injured.
Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Euro 2016 stalwart Grzegorz Krychowiak are in the squad, however, as the team bid to at least match their performance of reaching the quarter-finals five years ago in France where they lost on penalties to eventual champions Portugal.
“The backbone of our team from two previous major tournaments is still here, we understand each other with eyes closed,” Krychowiak said.
Poland have scored 11 goals in five matches under Sousa in 2021, but scored the opening goal in the game only twice, against Russia and Andorra.
“It is important to score first against teams playing from counter-attack,” Krychowiak said. “We cannot start the match in the second half.”
Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar will be tasked with stopping Lewandowski, as the record-breaking Bayern Munich striker sets out to prove his quality at a major tournament.
Both played a key role in their clubs’ success during the 2020/21 season, as Skriniar’s Inter Milan won Italy’s Serie A with the least goals conceded and Lewandowski’s Bayern clinched the Bundesliga title with the most scored.
As he tries to keep Lewandowski quiet, Skriniar will need to keep a clear head and count on his teammates to put pressure on Poland‘s midfield before they can deliver the ball to the European Golden Boot winner of 2021.
The midfield will be dotted with well-established names on both sides, where creative midfielders Piotr Zielinski and Marek Hamsik are also no strangers to each other.
Zielinski took over Hamsik’s role as the midfield general at Napoli in 2019 when Slovakia’s all-time top goalscorer left Italy to play in China. Following Zielinski’s emergence there, Polish fans now expect him to take a leading role at the Euros.
Captain Hamsik, who led Slovakia to the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup, will be eager to prove his glory days are not yet over.
While the Poland squad has bigger names, including Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Euro 2016 protagonist Grzegorz Krychowiak, Slovakia’s secret weapon may be their knowledge beyond their opponents’ star players.
Slovak goalkeeper Dusan Kuciak and defender Lubomir Satka play in the Polish top flight, while Lukas Haraslin and Ondrej Duda also played in Poland before transferring to top European leagues.
Victory in the opener will ease the pressure on the winners ahead of their match against group favourites Spain, and potentially take them halfway to a place in the knockout stages.
So far, Poland have failed five out of six times to win their opener at a major tournament in the 21st century, despite being tipped to win in most of those matches.
Slovakia, who will enter the Saint Petersburg Stadium as most pundits’ underdogs, have qualified for major tournaments only twice this millennium – but they made it through the group stage both times.
