NewsNational Team A
Czesław Michniewicz: Everything is still in our hands
The Polish national team suffered their third defeat in the UEFA Nations League. In their penultimate match, the White-and-Reds lost 0-2 to the Netherlands at the PGE Narodowy Stadium. Cody Gakpo and Steven Bergwijn were the ones to score goals for the away team. "I think most fans are aware that the Netherlands is one of the best teams in Europe. The Dutch are always tipped as favourites at major tournaments. It's different with us, but that doesn't mean we don't have our ambitions and goals," said coach Czeslaw Michniewicz after the match.
On the match against the Netherlands:
We lose such goals in a similar way when trying to play the ball in our own half. We knew that the Dutch team would dominate and hold the ball. They showed the same style of play in previous matches and they did the same thing this time. The opponent managed to create a one-touch passing situation in the penalty area. It got our defence lost, we didn't manage get into the right positions. The Dutch had the eact same situation as Arek Milik. They scored a goal and we, unfortunately, didn't. When we play against a team like the Netherlands, we must take such opportunities. In the second half, it started to look promising but we lacked effectiveness. We lost the second goal and couldn't get back into the game. I very much regret that it turned out this way. The opponent was focused and, with the score at 2-0, concentrated on securing the field. They no longer attacked with the same number of players. They focused on maintaining the score and were positioned accordingly on the pitch.
On defensive organisation:
First of all, I think it was the first time we played with three centre backs in such a line-up, namely Jakub Kiwior, Kamil Glik and Jan Bednarek. Everyone was in a different situation. For Kiwior, it was the third match, Bednarek has made few appearances for the club and Glik played for the first time in such company. We wanted to see in this match what level Arek Reca could play at against a top-class opponent and whether he would be a player we could count on. Unfortunately, he could not play due to an injury and Nicola Zalewski had to replace him. It was fine until he got tired, then he needed a substitution. We also need to prepare him for Sunday's match. We wanted to use three defenders, we went with two central midfielders so that Zieliński and Szymański had more freedom. There were moments when we managed to close down the opponent, to force the ball further out. It is more beneficial for Zieliński, Szymański and one striker to play like this.
On the defeat:
From my perspective, as the person responsible for preparing the tactics for this match, looking at the way we played and lost goals, we have a lot of reservations about how things went. From a fan's point of view, when the team loses, it's always a disappointment. I'm not surprised that the fans booed. I don't question that. I think most fans are aware that the Netherlands is one of the best teams in Europe. The Dutch are always tipped as favourites at major tournaments. It's different with us, but that doesn't mean we don't have our ambitions and goals. We also want to play good football and grow as a team. Unfortunately, a few attacks against the Dutch are not enough.
On the match against Wales:
We will definitely go to Cardiff with a different line-up. I'm counting on Szymon Żurkowski, who couldn't participate in training because he had a baby girl. I'm glad none of the players is banned due to cards. We will see about Paweł Dawidowicz's and Arkadiusz Reca's health. Sebastian Szymański suffered a minor injury during the warm-up. At some point we asked him how he was feeling. He said he could feel some pain in the muscle and we didn't want to risk him playing to the end. We will be counting on him on Sunday. Now it is all up to us. We simply have to go to Wales and win points. It is not an easy situation but we have to handle it.
