National teams of Poland and the Czech Republic played a friendly match on Thursday night in Gdansk. Nearly 35000 fans gathered at Energa Stadium to witness the 0:1 loss of the hosts.
Squads
Poland arrived at the field with wingers back in the squad. This was a change many were waiting for a while and it gave hopes for a good result. Łukasz Skorupski got a chance to show his skills in the goal. Four defenders: Kędziora, Bednarek, Kamiński, and Bereszyński were supporting him. Krychowiak and Zielinski played as defensive middle fielders allowing for two wingers to arrive on the sides. This was the job of Grosicki and Frankowski who played on the wings. A pair of Klich and Lewandowski were responsible for shooting in the game.
On the other side of the field, we saw a 4-5-1 formation. With Pavlenka in goal and four defenders in front, the Czechs were eager to keep the clean sheet. Dockal and Pavelka protected the center of the field. This allowed three other middle fielders – Jankto, Soucek, and Vydra to create offensive opportunities. The coach designated one sniper – Patrik Schick.
Disappointing performance
Though the expectations toward the Polish National team were high, the supporters could feel disappointed. Though the team had a slightly better ball possession, the style of their game was far from great. The team was unable to dominate the Czechs. The guests, on the other hand, were playing the first half easily, waiting for a mistake of the Polish players. The warning for the Polish team came right before the break when Matej Vydra took a good shot on goal. Luckily for the keeper, the ball missed the target.
The only goal
A mistake by Jan Bednarek led to a disaster at the beginning of the second half. He lost the ball easily which after a moment landed in front of Jakub Jankto, who calmly directed it towards the empty goal.
This situation, as well as a bad performance of the hosts, led to a huge disappointment of the fans. The national team of Poland had to hear whistles of the crowds to get to work. This was a signal to attack. The team started to press and to create opportunities. They were unlucky though and the match ended with a 0:1 at the scoreboard.
