Poland Meet Ecuador Outside World Cup Spotlight
June 9, 2006
Stuck in the unenviable position of sharing Group A with Germany, Ecuador and Poland will meet on Friday in Gelsenkirchen, knowing that a win would be a big step towards advancing to the second round as well as a psychological boost before facing the tournament hosts later in the preliminary stage.
"Sixty per cent of our chances of going through to the next round rest on the Poland game," said Ecuador's Edison Mendez, emphasizing the game's importance.
Though Ecuador have not been impressive lately, coach Luis Fernando Suarez said he remained confident in the team he put together after taking over after from Hernan Gomez, who had disappointed with three straight losses and Ecuador's unceremonious eviction from the 2004 Copa America.
"Ecuador have grown as a team. We have more experience and now we have to prove that to everyone," he said. "We should seek to take advantage when space opens and catch (Poland) on the break."
The South Americans were unbeaten in their high-altitude qualifying games at home and finished third in the qualifying group behind Brazil and Argentina, but had trouble in away matches at lower elevations and will attempt to make more than a cameo in their second appearance on world soccer's biggest stage.
A reliable plan
Hoping that the setup that spelled success for Poland the last time Germany hosted the World Cup in 1974, coach Pawel Janas will be relying on a 4-5-1 system again.
"We're going in the right direction," said Poland defender Michal Zewlakow. "There is a tight spirit crystallizing, which is very different from 2002. Hopefully the results will be too."
Poland, who are slightly favored to win Friday's match, were sent home from the 2002 World Cup in the group stage after losing 2-0 to co-host South Korea. Poland were among Europe's best second-placed teams in the 2006 qualifying campaign, giving Group 6 winner England a close match and booking tickets to Germany after beating Wales.
Connecting with the past
Janas scrapped his pre-tournament plans in favor of a single striker and five-man midfield that led the Polish team to success in 1974; when they came in third after a 1-0 semifinal loss on a rain-soaked pitch to eventual champions Germany; and another third place finish, this time with Janas on the field as a player, in the 1982 Spain finals.
"I wasn't even born in 1982, never mind 1974, but I've got all those games on tape at home," the Poles' 21-year-old keeper Lukasz Fabianski told Reuters. "I've watched them over and over again and I'd give anything to be able to do something which connects us to those teams."
Poland and Ecuador have only met on one prior occasion with Poland winning the November 2005 match 3-0.
"It would be a mistake to go into this game (against Ecuador) thinking about the win last year," Polish defender Michal Zewlakow said. "For me the most important thing is to defend well. If we don't give away a goal then I feel sure we will score."
Poland (4-5-1):
1-Artur Boruc; 6-Jacek Bak, 2-Mariusz Jop, 14-Michal Zewlakow, 4-Marcin Baszczynski; 8-Jacek Krzynowek, 16-Arkadiusz Radomski, 10-Miroslaw Szymkowiak, 7-Radoslaw Sobolewski, 15-Euzebiusz Smolarek; 9-Maciej Zurawski.
Coach: Pawel Janas
Ecuador (4-4-2):
12-Cristian Mora; 4-Ulises de la Cruz, 3-Ivan Hurtado,17-Giovanny Espinoza, 18-Neicer Reasco; 8-Edison Mendez, 20-Edwin Tenorio, 14-Segundo Castillo, 16-Luis Antonio Valencia; 11-Agustin Delgado, 21-Carlos Tenorio or 10-Ivan Kaviedes.
Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez