Poland adds new names for Bosnia friendly

Poland manager Franciszek Smuda has added two names to his squad for the Euro 2012 hosts’ friendly, against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Antalya, Turkey.

The Polish football association said Smuda had offered Zaglebie Lubin’s Dawid Plizga, 25, his first-ever senior cap. The midfielder has played for Poland’s under-21 side in the past.

Smuda also brought Widzew Lodz striker Marcin Robak back into his squad.

Robak, 28, earned his first call-up in January for a friendly tournament in Thailand, scoring one goal in Poland’s 3-1 victory over the hosts.

He also appeared in two other matches in the tournament, a 6-1 drubbing of Singapore and 1-3 loss to Denmark.

Smuda’s 18-man list for the Bosnia game is made up entirely of domestic league players.

Plizga and Robak replace two injured strikers, Polonia Warsaw’s Artur Sobiech, 20, and Belchatow’s Dawid Nowak, 25.

The manager has yet to break down his list of midfielders and forwards for the Bosnia friendly.

Smuda took charge in October 2009 after Poland failed to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

He has faced criticism as Poland prepare for the next edition of the European championships, now only 18 months away.

Like fellow hosts Ukraine, Poland have an automatic berth at Euro 2012, so Smuda must rely on friendlies to craft his squad and the results have been mixed.

Poland fans are desperate for a return to the glory days. Poland earned Olympic gold in 1972, a World Cup third place in 1974, Olympic silver in 1976, and a further World Cup third in 1982.

Today’s Poland are a far cry from the squad of that era, slipping down the FIFA rankings to 71st — compared to Bosnia’s 51st.

For Bosnia, the Poland game is a chance to hone their skills before their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign resumes in March. They stand fourth in Group D, ahead of Luxemburg and Romania and behind Albania, Belarus and France.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Bartosz Kaniecki (Widzew Lodz)

Defenders: Maciej Sadlok (Ruch Chorzow), Hubert Wolakiewicz (Lechia Gdansk), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan), Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznan), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw), Piotr Celeban (Slask Wroclaw)

Midfielders and forwards: Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw), Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw), Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin), Cezary Wilk (Wisla Krakow), Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow), Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw), Dawid Plizga (Zaglebie Lubin), Marcin Robak (Widzew Lodz)