On June 16, the German national soccer team will travel to Warsaw to play a test match against Poland. Not everyone in Poland is happy about that.
Poland versus Germany: this neighborly duel always has a certain explosiveness in sports. So the fans of the white and red Eagles are also looking forward to the encounter on June 16 (20:45) in Warsaw. Even if the comparison is only a test match.
But it is a special test. Because Jakub Blaszczykowski (37) will be officially seen off in this test match a few years after his national team retirement. 108 international matches (21 goals) played the popular “Kuba”, who also played 253 competitive matches (32 goals, 52 assists) for Borussia Dortmund between 2007 and 2016. He enjoys legend status at BVB.
“I haven’t told anyone this yet, but I called Jakub Blaszczykowski and talked about the possibility of a farewell game. He was taken with the idea and he is keen on this farewell game. It is now certain that this farewell match will take place in the National Stadium,” Cezary Kulesza, Poland’s federation head, told TV channel “TVP Sport”.
Fernando Santos, Poland’s national coach, sees the whole thing somewhat differently, with less emotion and much more objectivity. The Portuguese started the European Championship qualifying campaign for the 2024 finals in Germany with a 1:3 loss to the Czech Republic in Prague and a 1:0 loss to Albania in Warsaw. His focus is on June 20, 2023: the next qualifier in Chisinau against Moldova.
This match was scheduled before my time, so there’s nothing I can do about it. I respect that the game was organized. But, if they ask me now if I would have accepted this test match, my answer is no. I am not interested in it and I don’t need it. The important match is the one in Moldova. We won’t get any points for the match against Germany.
Fernando Santos
Then the Germany comparison four days before the point game comes very inconvenient for the 68-year-old. Santos told “TVP Sport”, “This match was scheduled before my time, so I can’t do anything there. I respect that the game was organized. But, if they ask me now if I would have accepted this test match, my answer is no. I am not interested in it and I don’t need it. The important match is the one in Moldova. We won’t get any points for the match against Germany.”
Even more, while the federation hopes for a sold-out national stadium with more than 50,000 fans against Germany, Santos does not give Poland fans much hope for an attractive eleven. “That we will spare our regular players is actually clear. We will approach the game professionally. But I won’t take any risks in qualifying just to look good against Germany. I have to concentrate on the game against Moldova,” Santos said.
On Blaszczykowski’s farewell, the Portuguese, who was European champion with Portugal in 2016 and eliminated Poland on penalties in the quarterfinals, added: “If there is such a tradition in Poland, I respect that. Cuba was very strong at the 2016 European Championship. The game against Poland was probably also the toughest we had with Portugal at this tournament. The game against Germany is a party. It will be very enjoyable to be part of that celebration. But again, my focus is on Moldova. If we weren’t playing Moldova four days later, I wouldn’t mind this Germany test match either. “