LEO IS IN THE ASCENDANT

Poland are rated 27 in the world by FIFA. But even though many of their players are not well known, they have been getting good results for some time: They finished top of their group and beat Portugal 2-1 at home.

This is their first Europe championship. The strength in depth is shown by the choice of goalkeepers. They can choose from Celtic’s Artur Boruc, Arsenal’s Lukasz Fabianski, Manchester United’s Tomasz Kuszczak and Real Madrid’s Jerzy Dudek who was one of the best players in the world when he was playing for Liverpool and won the Champions League in 2005. In defence they have the solid and impermeable look with former Lyon and Lens player Jacek Bak and Olympiakos ’s Michal Zewlakow.

Up front Racing Santander’s Ebo Smolarek scored nine goals during the eliminatory phase and the recently naturalized Legia Varsovie’s Roger Guerreiro who is a Brazilian played for Corinthians and Flamengo.

Another key element lies in its coach Leo Beenhakker and his 40 years of experience at the highest level all around the world – he helped Trinidad and Tobago qualify for the World Cup in 2006 and won three consecutive Liga with the Real Madrid. The White Warlock may have another capable team here.