Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is unfazed by the prospect of facing star Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo in a friendly on Wednesday, manager Franciszek Smuda says.
Speaking on the eve of the Euro 2012 co-hosts' debut game in Warsaw's new National Stadium -- the venue for the opening match of the tournament in June -- Smuda dismissed as "rubbish" claims that the Real Madrid forward would worry his keeper.
"I can hardly imagine his legs are shaking. He's come up against so many multi-titled players that he's not worried, for sure," Smuda told reporters, in the wake of comments on Monday by Szczesny.
Szczesny is the first-choice goalkeeper at English Premier League club Arsenal, despite being only 21.
With seven international caps since 2009, he has staked his claim as heir to a line of Poles in goal running from 1970s icon Jan Tomaszewski to the more recent generation's Jerzy Dudek and Artur Boruc.
Szczesny is one of 16 names on Smuda's 22-man list for the Portugal match who play abroad -- underlining the relative weakness of the Polish league.
Seven play in Germany, notably striker Robert Lewandowski, midfielder Kuba Blaszczykowski and defender Lukasz Piszczek.
The trio have played a key role in lifting Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga, with Lewandowski earning the nickname "Lewangoalski".
Lewandowski, 23, has 42 Poland caps and 13 goals under his belt.
But doubts remain as to whether Smuda can field him against Portugal, after he picked up an injury during Dortmund's 3-1 defeat of Hanover on Sunday, where he scored two goals.
Like fellow Euro 2012 hosts Ukraine, Poland have an automatic berth at the championships and have had to rely on friendlies to get ready.
Having flunked their qualifying run for the 2010 World Cup, Poland will not have played a competitive match since the end of 2009 by the time they kick off Euro 2012 against Greece in Warsaw on June 8.
Their preparation campaign has been been patchy, upping the pressure on Smuda's side to perform against Portugal, who made the Euro 2012 cut after thrashing surprise performers Bosnia in the play-offs.
Poland stand 70th in the global rankings of world football's governing body FIFA, compared to Portugal's sixth.
Source: AFP
