Nations / Dave Farrar / 29 May 2008 / Leave a comment

Group B favourites Germany and Croatia should be very wary of the threat posed by Leo Beenhakker's Poland after a purple patch in qualifying showed just how well they can perform on their day.

Group B - Poland

It's hard to believe that this will be Poland's first ever European Championships. How did a country which produced Lato, Deyna and Boniek fail to make it before now? The class of 2008 doesn't contain any players of that calibre, and yet Poland's draw gives them a whiff of a chance. They'll relish a match against their old rivals Germany and will give the hotly fancied Croatians a real run for their money in what could turn out to be the key game in Group B. Beenhakker versus Bilic should be pure gold.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

One of the strangest things about Poland's qualification is that it started so badly. Beaten 3-1 at home by Finland, and with Portugal and Serbia the favourites in a tough looking group, their form from that point was nothing short of staggering. They drew 1-1 at home against the Serbs and then won six games in a row, including a home victory against the Portuguese. They drew in Portugal and Serbia and their only defeat after the opening day was, rather oddly, in Armenia. Poland were the surprise of the long-winded European Championship qualification process.

COACH: Leo BEENHAKKER

It's no real surprise that Poland have done as well as they have given that they have one of Europe's most experienced coaches in charge. Leo Beenhakker won three titles in a row in his time at Real Madrid, coached Holland at the 1990 World Cup and was also the reason behind Trinidad and Tobago's shock World Cup qualification in 2006. He took the Poland job after the 2006 World Cup and has managed to do what his predecessor Pawel Janas couldn't - turn a team of flaky underachievers into winners. Poland won't fail at Euro 2008 because of a lack of tactical nous; and Otto Rehhagel showed in Euro 2004 just how far experience and belief in a system could take a team.

KEY PLAYERS

Ebi SMOLAREK

Smolarek has international pedigree for many reasons. His father, Wlodzimierz, was a player of some repute, and young Ebi was named after Eusebio. It would be pushing it to say that he has scaled the heights of his namesake, but he has been one of the main reasons for Racing Santander's overachievement this season, scoring only 4 goals but creating many more. And he does have proven ability in front of goal. He once got 13 in a season with Borussia Dortmund, and finished level with Cristiano Ronaldo as the third top scorer in qualifying, although four goals against Kazakhstan helped him with that statistic.

Artur BORUC

You can't talk about Poland without mentioning Beenhakkers biggest selectorial headache - who plays in goal? Poland are blessed with more choice than any other European nation, with Tomas Kusczak of Manchester United a strong second pick, and Lukasz Fabianski of Arsenal a more than reasonable deputy deputy. And all of this against the background of the man who actually started in goal in the qualifying campaign - Jerzy Dudek of Liverpool. Boruc gets the nod, and, despite the odd horrorshow for Celtic, deserves to. His performances could make the difference between success and failure in a tightly contested group.

Mariusz LEWANDOWSKI

Lewandowski is extremely important to the way that Beenhakker wants Poland to play. His job is to scrap and battle in the midfield, and encourage some of the more talented but less combative players around him to put themselves on the line for the cause. Greece showed that, for a smaller nation to well in a major tournament, then there mustn't be a question mark about the team's work ethic. The shaven headed Lewandowski, who holds his own in a strong Shakhtar side, makes sure that Poland will fight all the way, and that isn't something they've been very good at in tournaments past.

VERDICT

The key to Poland is the coach. Beenhakker is the reason to back them, the lightweight look of their team is the reason not to. When deciding whether to put your faith in them, you must ask yourself whether Beenhakker can outcoach Bilic in one of the most fascinating games of the tournament, and whether his team can lay a glove on Germany in their opening game. Having opposed Croatia on value grounds elsewhere I edge towards another triumph for experience, and will back Poland to get out of the group but get no further. A quarter finalist, and a worthy one, take the [2.96] for them to qualify.

Tags: Euro 2008 Betting, Football Betting, Group B Betting, Leo Beenhakker, Poland