Nawalka Aware of greater opposition

Poland made a stunning start to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after thrashing Gibraltar 7-0 with Robert Lewandowski being the pick of the bunch. The opposition were playing at home, but Poland came into the match as favourites due to the overwhelming strength of this professional team. In contrast, Gibraltar were able to call upon only two players who have been playing as professionals. They included Preston North End’s Scott Wiseman and Israeli side Bnei Yehuda’s Liam Walker. The gulf in quality showed throughout the encounter, as Poland comfortably brushed aside the opponents.

However, Poland coach Adam Nawalka will be aware that far greater opposition await them in this qualifying campaign. They start with a tough match against Germany at home, while they are up against Scotland three days later in October. These two home games will go a long way into determining the outcome of this qualifying campaign. Getting anything more than four points will be seen as a huge success for the Polish team, who have not been a major fixture at international tournaments of late. The presence of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski will be a major boost for Poland and he did not disappoint in the opening qualification match after scoring four goals.

All of his goals came in the second half, while Grosicki helped himself to a brace in the match. Szukala scored the other goal in this comprehensive victory. After a string of impressive performances with Arsenal at the start of the season, Wojciech Szczesny was in goal for the Polish and this saw Artur Boruc dropping to the bench. The victory against Gibraltar was far more important considering that one of their main rivals for the qualifying positions, Scotland, lost in the opening match. Three teams have taken a win from the opening round of fixtures. They include Germany and Republic of Ireland aside from Poland.