Poland fans keep World Cup hopes to a minimum

WARSAW, May 23: Poland head for the World Cup finals targeting a second-round spot after a qualifying campaign that showed them to be effective against Europe's international second division but outclassed by its top rank.

Coach Pawel Janas's side of journeymen professionals, only a handful of whom start for club sides in Europe's top leagues, hope to make amends for an embarrassing group-stage exit in South Korea four years ago.

Most fans admit bluntly that the team are not equipped to repeat the heroics of 1974 and 1982, when sides driven by playmakers Zbigniew Boniek and Kazimierz Deyna took third place after coming to within an inch of the final.

''This team is not capable of repeating our successes,'' said former national goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski, famous for denying England a finals place in West Germany in 1974 with his heroics at Wembley in 1973 when Poland qualified and England were eliminated after a 1-1 draw.

''Qualifying showed we are too strong for the weaker sides and too weak for the stronger ones. We will likely get Sweden or England in the second round and that will prove too much.'' The Poles won eight of their 10 games in qualifying from Group Six, squeezing past Austria and Wales by single goals at home, but were overwhelmed both home and away by an inconsistent English side.

Friendlies against other top-class teams -- Belgium, Sweden Denmark and even Belarus -- have exposed defensive frailties and a lack of bite up front.

Yet Janas's record of 28 wins, six draws and 10 defeats is now the best of any Polish coach in 20 years and a FIFA internet poll in early April saw fans back Poland as favourites to advance from Group A with Germany.

''Let's get out of the group first and see what happens,'' Janas's chief assistant Maciej Skorza told daily Gazeta Wyborcza recently. The Poles play Ecuador on June 9, Germany on June 14 and Costa Rica on June 20.

As a player, Janas was at the heart of a defence that conceded just one goal on the way to the World Cup semi-finals in 1982. The current side's leaky defence has failed to contain every top-class opponent in his three years in charge. Most of the first-choice midfield have struggled with form and injuries since sealing qualification in September and Janas and his coaching team have spent the last three months searching for fresh options.

''It doesn't look especially cheerful,'' Skorza said.

Fans attach most hope to Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski and Borussia Dortmund winger Euzebiusz Smolarek, who between them scored more than 25 league goals this season.

The team as a whole were Europe's fourth top scorers in qualifying with 27.

''They have played very effectively in qualifying,'' former German captain Franz Beckenbauer told reporters on a recent trip to Warsaw. ''If they can repeat that form, they can make it to the quarter or even the semi-finals.'' That was what Poland achieved when the World Cup was held in West Germany in 1974. A repeat performance this time would go down as an even greater accomplishment.

REUTERS