Blaszczykowski to stay on as captain

Kuba Blaszczykowski and new trainer Adam Nawalka on Tuesday. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kaczmarczyk

“I wanted to wait until I had the met the players before announcing this decision,” Nawalka said on Tuesday as a press conference in Grodzisk Wielopolski, where the new squad is having its first training session.

“I decided that the team will be led out of the tunnel by the player who has the most caps,” he said.

“At the moment that's Kuba Blaszczykowski, and he will be the captain in the coming matches.”

Speaking of the atmosphere at the inaugural training camp ahead of Friday's friendly with Slovakia, Nawalka was upbeat.

“There was talk of some conflict within the squad, but I don't see any of that,” he said.

Although, the training only started on Tuesday, Nawalka said that “you can already see that the group is starting to integrate.

“This is very important, as it's only by performing as a group that we'll be able to get results,” he added.

Blaszczykowski made his debut as captain in November 2010 and led the team through Poland's patchy performances at Euro 2012.

After Friday's match against Slovakia in Wroclaw, Poland will then play another friendly against Ireland in Poznan (19 November).

Source: IAR