‘Massive pressure on Lewandowski’

FORMER Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski insists Robert Lewandowski will bear the weight of a nation’s expectation on his shoulders this Thursday night.

While the penultimate Euro 2016 qualifier at Hampden is not an absolute must-win game for the Poles, victory over Scotland will almost certainly guarantee an automatic spot at next summer’s Finals in France.

Lewandowski is the top scorer across the entire qualification process with 10 and Zurawski admits he has been blown away by the Bayern Munich forward’s recent form, not least his five-goal burst in a Bundesliga game against Wolfsburg.

‘Lewandowski is always under pressure,’ said Zurawski, who will return to Glasgow this week for television work. ‘They all look to him to win a match and he is the captain, too, which brings extra responsibility. Against Scotland on Thursday, everyone in Poland will expect him to score.

‘People can say it is a team game but the reality is everybody will look to Lewandowski to score at least one goal. If he doesn’t score but Poland wins, then that’s OK. But if he doesn’t score and Poland don’t win, he gets the blame.

‘The Polish team is good — not very strong but dangerous. Lewandowski is the star but people also talk about Kamil Glik, who is playing very well for Torino in Italy.

‘Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla and Kamil Grosicki of Rennes are also in good form and Jakub Blaszczykowski is starting to play well for Fiorentina.

‘They have a good level but they are not stars or big names. The thing that can help Scotland is that they are playing at home in front of their mad fans.’