Football: Poland set to enter World Cup fray
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
19.06.2018 08:30
Poland’s national football team was on Tuesday set to take on Senegal in its first game at the World Cup in Russia.
Poland manager Adam Nawalka (2nd from left) and players (left to right) Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jakub Błaszczykowski, and Kamil Grosicki attend a press conference in Moscow on Monday. Photo: EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
The match in Moscow, kicking off at 5 pm Polish time, was due to mark Poland’s return to World Cup action after a hiatus of 12 years.
Poland’s last World Cup appearance was in Germany in 2006, when they did not get past the group stage.
Poland finished third in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany and were also third in Spain in 1982.
In addition to Senegal, Poland will take on Colombia and Japan in the group stage of the tournament in Russia.
Manager Adam Nawałka's men are scheduled to take on Colombia in Kazan on Sunday and play Japan in Volgograd next Thursday.
At a pre-match news conference on Monday, Nawałka said his team’s Group H fixture against Senegal could prove to be crucial to Poland’s success in the tournament.
He also said that the Poles were “optimally prepared for their first match” at Moscow's Spartak stadium.
Nawałka did not rule out that defender Kamil Glik would make the squad for Senegal despite a recent injury that caused fears he would miss the World Cup, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP