GDANSK, Poland. October 7 (PSN) – A great first half, weaker second but a sure victory. In Gdansk, the Poland national team defeated Finland 5:1 on Wednesday in a friendly.
The Poles were led by Kamil Grosicki, who with the captain’s armband scored a hat-trick for the home team.
For this match, Poland coach Jerzy Brzeczek focused primarily on players who have not yet had the opportunity to play much before, and also used the services of several debutantes. Bartlomiej Dragowski, Sebastian Walukiewicz and Michal Karbownik were given a chance to make their national team debuts from the very first minute. Pawel Bochniewicz and Alan Czerwinski also made their debuts after subbing in during the second half.
Since the first whistle, the match was dictated by the Bialo-czerwoni, who immediately went on the attack. A goal for Poland at that point seemed to only be a matter of time, already coming in the 9th minute. Kamil Grosicki, who beat out the goalkeeper with a flat shot from outside the penalty area scored his first of the game. In the 18th minute, the Polish winger again made himself known to the Finnish defenders. This time Grosicki caught the ball from the right side of the penalty area and put it in the net with a powerful strike right under the crossbar. In this instance, Jakub Moder recorded the assist for the goal.
The 32-year-old would have one more goal just before the half, who once again showed off with a precise shot on target from a dozen or so meters.
Brzeczek’s team also started the second half very well and earned their fourth goal of the night in the 53rd minute. Damian Kadzior broke through with the Finnish defense in the penalty area where he played the ball right to Krzysztof Piatek’s feet, who then converted with ease.
In the 68th minute, the visitors looked to respond with a goal of their own. Taking advantage of a defensive mistake, Ilmari Niskanen was able to put one past Drągowski with a great curving ball to put one on the board. The Finns also tried to follow up with a second but afterwards were unable to beat out the debuting Fiorentina goalkeeper.
Looking to bounce back after conceding, a determined Michal Karbownik made a confident run on the left wing to send the ball right into the penalty box. It came straight to Arkadiusz Milik, who then volleyed it into the net to set the scoreline at 5:1.
Poland’s next fixture is a UEFA Nations League encounter with Italy on October 11 in Gdansk, followed by Bosnia on October 14 in Wroclaw.
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Poland – Finland 5:1 (3:0)
Goals: Grosicki 9′, 18′, 38′, Piątek 53′, Milik 87′ – Niskanen 68′
Referee: Michal Očenáš (Slovakia)
Poland: 12. Bartłomiej Drągowski – 18. Bartosz Bereszyński (62, 20. Alan Czerwiński), 5. Jan Bednarek, 3. Sebastian Walukiewicz (46, 2. Paweł Bochniewicz), 16. Michał Karbownik – 17. Damian Kądzior (82, 21. Kamil Jóźwiak), 9. Jakub Moder (61, 10. Grzegorz Krychowiak), 8. Karol Linetty, 7. Arkadiusz Milik, 11. Kamil Grosicki (62, 13. Rafał Pietrzak) – 23. Krzysztof Piątek (72, 14. Mateusz Klich)
Finland: 12. Jesse Joronen – 17. Nikolai Alho, 15. Leo Väisänen, 5. Juhani Ojala, 22. Daniel O’Shaughnessy (46, 18. Jere Uronen), 16. Juha Pirinen (46, 8. Robert Taylor) – 11. Rasmus Schüller, 21. Thomas Lam (46, 14. Ilmari Niskanen), 19. Joni Kauko (62, 6. Glen Kamara) – 9. Fredrik Jensen (82, 13. Pyry Soiri), 20. Joel Pohjanpalo (62, 7. Rasmus Karjalainen)
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