Borussia Dortmund trio lead Poland Euro 2012 squad
The Borussia Dortmund trio of Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek lead the European Championship squad for co-host Poland.
- Associated Press
- Updated: May 28, 2012 01:14 pm IST
The Borussia Dortmund trio of Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek lead the European Championship squad for co-host Poland.
Coach Franciszek Smuda on Sunday also named Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to his final 23-man roster for the competition, which starts June 8 in Warsaw with Poland taking on Greece.
Lewandowski, who scored 22 goals for German champion Dortmund, will spearhead Poland's attack. Smuda had few obvious choices to partner with the 23-year-old Lewandowski and opted for Celtic's Pawel Brozek and Hannover 96's Artur Sobiech.
Blaszczykowski, who missed Poland's lackluster 2008 European Championship campaign due to a nagging hamstring injury, will anchor the midfield. The 26-year-old Pole plays an attacking position on the right flank and is coming off a stellar season for Dortmund, where he scored six goals and added eight assists.
Auxerre's Dariusz Dudka, a veteran of Euro 2008, and Bordeaux's Ludovic Obraniak will provide solid midfield play.
At the back, Piszczek will lead a defense that has proven shaky at times. Veteran Marcin Wasilewski, Jakub Wawrzyniak and Damien Perquis, who scored Poland's sole goal in its 1-0 friendly win against Slovakia on Saturday, are all stalwarts of the squad since Smuda took over in late 2009.
Szczesny has been impressive in goal in his national team appearances, and is coming off a solid year as Arsenal's first-choice 'keeper.