International friendly preview: Poland v France

Poland welcome France to Warsaw on Thursday for an international friendly, with Laurent Blanc’s side looking to stay in good form.

Blanc’s men are on top of Group D in Euro 2012 qualifying but only by a solitary point from Belarus – although France have a game in hand.

In their most recent qualifier, France were well held to a 1-1 draw by Belarus in Minsk on Friday, but they followed that up with a 4-1 friendly win over Ukraine on Monday in Donetsk.

Friendlies, of course, are the only type of games Poland are playing these days, with the Euro 2012 co-hosts’ place in the tournament already secured alongside Ukraine.

On Sunday, Poland enjoyed a famous 2-1 win over Argentina in Warsaw, with goals from Adrian Mierzejewski and Pawel Brozek sealing victory.

With France’s next hit-out against Albania in Euro 2012 qualifying not scheduled until September 2, they will be hoping to make the most of the fixture to try out some tactical ideas.

One of the success stories from the Ukraine clash was the international debut of Sochaux striker Marvin Martin, who bagged a brace in his first game for the national squad.

Blanc left several of his best players out of the starting XI against Ukraine, including Florent Malouda, Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema.

Borussia Dortmund duo Robert Lewandowski and Lukasz Piszczek are in the Poland squad, and will be players to look out for in Franciszek Smuda’s side after both men enjoyed excellent domestic campaigns to help the German outfit claim the Bundesliga title.