Judgement day for Page’s boys
Lewandowski and Poland stand in the way of Wales reaching Euro 2024 finals
THEY have been rolling out the Welsh royalty in Cardiff, as has become the custom on these big occasions.
Rhys Ifans, the actor, has taken over from Michael Sheen, motivator-in-chief before the World Cup, in providing some motivation for a Wales team looking to book a third successive major tournament place for the nation in tonight’s play-off final against Poland.
But no gloss can obscure the fundamental challenge. While Wales journey on without their own once-in-a-generation genius, Poland are very much holding on to theirs. Robert Lewandowski has scored 82 goals for his country — a record surpassed in Europe only by Romelu Lukaku, Ferenc Puskas and Cristiano Ronaldo — and is eyeing one last tournament.
With some chutzpah, Wales manager Rob Page declared of Lewandowski: ‘He’s a fantastic player. We respect that. But it stops there. We have planned for him.’
You can never entirely plan for a player like him.
Lewandowski is 35 now, and although he didn’t score for the Poles in their 5-1 evisceration of Estonia in their play-off semi-final last week, he’s still very much the threat. Another 23 goals this season for the Barcelona player, including three for his country.
Wales have much to take belief from; their home record, reading three defeats in 25 (though Poland were one of them). The colossal power of the national anthem in the latter stages of their 4-1 victory over Finland on Thursday.
But the match-up between Lewandowski and Chris Mepham, at the heart of central defence, is where the greatest jeopardy resides. When Teemu Pukki lurked with goalscoring intent for the Finns in Cardiff, Mepham’s radar failed him.
Compensation comes in the pleasing balance Page’s side revealed that night, with Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James bringing a strength to defensive midfield which gave the defenders confidence, as the wing backs Neco Williams and Connor Roberts were set free.
It will be a question of collective defending to deter Lewandowski, forward Harry Wilson observed. ‘He might not be getting younger but if we give him half a sniff at goal, he’s going to take it,’ said the Fulham winger.
‘We need to make sure we stop him and don’t give him space or chances. If we do that, we’re confident with the quality in our dressing room going the other way that we can really hurt them.’
The Poles have several other elite players, including Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior and Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski, though they could be without Aston Villa right back Matty Cash, who went off injured against Estonia. They, just like
Wales, have arrived here on the back of months of uncertainty, after qualification campaigns which, as Page put it yesterday, brought some ‘bumps in the road.’
For Wales there were the back-to-back defeats against Armenia and Turkey last summer. The defeat by Armenia in Cardiff felt humiliating at the time and posed questions about Page’s future. There was a memorable win over Croatia last October but a draw in Armenia deprived them of automatic qualification.
Poland’s defeat in Moldova was a national humiliation and a subsequent loss to Albania saw manager Fernando Santos shown the door. Theirs has been an even more pronounced limp to this moment.
It can’t be said that history is on Wales side. The nation’s last win over Poland was way back in March 1973, when fewer than 13,000 fans watched a 2-0 win at the old Ninian Park, with Leighton James and the late Trevor Hockey scoring.
The game fell within the same three-nation World Cup qualification group which saw England fail to beat the Poles and miss out on the finals. Wales have lost seven and drawn two of the nine subsequent meetings.
Page has, as you would expect, already had Wales FA staff surveying possible Euros bases and it would be some achievement to reach a third consecutive finals in the post-Gareth Bale era. They would face France, Austria and Netherlands in Group D.
The manager, deliberating over whether to start with David Brooks or Kieffer Moore, was full of his usual boundless positivity.
‘It’s about us playing to the best we can play,’ said Page. ‘If we match the levels we can, certainly at home, then the result takes care of itself.’