Poles aim to keep afloat
13 Jun 2006 - 12:16:55
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- Poles aim to keep afloat
Poland will attempt to keep their World Cup hopes alive when they take on hosts Germany in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.
Pawel Janas' men started their Group A campaign with a dismal display against Ecuador in Gelsenkirchen last Friday, as goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado secured a surprise 2-0 win for the South American side.
The loss means Poland must avoid defeat against the hosts to guarantee they go into their final group game against Costa Rica with any chance of reaching the last 16.
It is not clear whether the Poles were guilty of looking forward to a potential second round clash with England and underestimated Ecuador or whether Janas' tactical changes were responsible for the poor performance.
Poland were an effective attacking force during qualifying when they played with a 4-4-2 formation, but lacked a cutting edge with the five-man midfield employed in Gelsenkirchen.
Maciej Zurawski looked lost as the lone striker and Janas must surely give the Celtic star some help in attack against Germany.
That aid could come in the form of Wisla Plock's Ireneusz Jelen, who rattled the woodwork after coming off the bench midway through the second half against Ecuador.
One man unlikely to feature in Janas' starting line-up is midfielder Kamil Kosowski, who suffered a hamstring strain after appearing as a late substitute in the defeat.
Unlike Poland, Germany enjoyed their start to the finals by recording a thrilling 4-2 win against Costa Rica.
The hosts looked to be a potent force going forward and secured victory thanks to a Miroslav Klose brace and goals from Philipp Lahm and Torsten Frings.
However, Jurgen Klinsmann's team are unusually poor at the back for a German national team and Costa Rica took advantage of their vulnerability in central defence to create two goals for Paulo Wanchope.
Captain Michael Ballack will return to the starting line-up after recovering from the calf injury that prevented him facing the Ticos and the Chelsea new boy is ready for a pitched-battle in midfield.
"Poland play a very different style of football to Costa Rica," said Ballack.
"Costa Rica let the German team play, sitting back and putting in few tackles. This will be a much hotter evening for us.
"The situation is different as well. The Poles know it's a make-or-break game for them now. It's going to be tougher, much tougher."