PREVIEW: Poland lose Lewandowski for EURO2024 opener, but can they still mount an assault on Group D?

Now at Barcelona, 35-year-old Robert Lewandowski spent the majority of his storied career winning trophies with Bayern Munich. Trophies were expected back then, with die Roten assembling a squad of the very best talent that the Bundesliga had to offer.

Laying hands on the prized Henri Delauney Cup will likely be nothing more than a dream for the majority of this Poland side heading to EURO2024; given that they’ll be without their talisman for their opening match against the Netherlands, even the most optimistic fans may be beginning to sow seeds of doubt.

Just last week, striker Arkadiusz Milik withdrew from the finalised squad to undergo meniscus surgery. Michał Probierz would barely have believed his luck when, after just twelve minutes of their friendly with Türkiye on Monday, Karol Swiderski was forced to limp off after spraining his ankle while celebrating the opening goal of a 2-1 win.

Swiderski should “return to full training within three to four days,” the Polish FA confirmed on Tuesday, but Lewandowski’s injury is more serious. He has “suffered a rupture of the biceps femoris muscle, which will exclude him from the first match of the tournament,” according to an official statement.

There is still seemingly doubt as to whether Lewandowski will be fit to face Austria on matchday two, but he should be back in time for their final Group D clash with France on June 25.

So, the question for Probierz now is a simple one: where will the goals come from? The answer, unfortunately, is harder to find and even more difficult to implement. Their opening clash against a Dutch side also ravaged by injury could prove to be one of their best chances to pick up points; even that looks to have been cast into doubt now.

There’s a lot on Probierz’s proverbial plate, and with just days remaining before they arrive on the major stage, only time will tell if he can find a way to assemble this Polish jigsaw. He simply has to: defeat in Hamburg to a Netherlands side that has lost both Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners would almost certainly bring an early end to their hopes of a knockout stage appearance.

He is less than a year into his tenure with the senior side, having stepped up from the U21s in September 2023 to salvage a dismal start to their EURO2024 qualifying campaign that had resulted in just six points from their opening five games under Fernando Santos.

Probierz changed their fortunes, striving for a late push up the table in Group E but 1-1 draws against Moldova and Czechia proved costly. Still though, the play-offs proved kind, with Path A seeing them roar past Estonia before displacing the Welsh by means of a penalty shootout at the Cardiff City Stadium in March.

The 51-year-old has never really been afforded the reigns at a top club, and his 39.46% win rate across the entirety of his managerial career doesn’t exactly serve to instil confidence in this Poland side. Neither does their record at the European Championships, with their quarterfinal appearance at EURO2016 the furthest they’ve progressed since their 2008 debut.

They’ve been dubbed as ‘boring and predictable’ by journalists, and there is no well-founded expectation within Poland for the national team to progress from this tricky EURO2024 group. There never has been, even at the height of their golden age.

FromTheSpot will cover Poland in depth throughout the entirety of their EURO2024 campaign, and you can follow our coverage via our website and our X account.