The co-hosts' right back acknowledged the strength Dick Advocaat's in-form side possess, as the rest of the team insists it has no fear and are prepared to do battle
Poland defender Lukasz Piszczek has conceded that Russia is the favorite to win Tuesday's Group A encounter in Warsaw.The two nations had contrasting starts to Euro 2012 with the co-hosts being held 1-1 by Greece, whereas the Alan Dzagoev-inspired Russians swept aside Czech Republic 4-1 to establish itself as most likely to progress from the group.
However, while the Borussia Dortmund ace was aware of the experience their opponents boast in their ranks, he nonetheless underlined his side’s desire to take all three points.
“Russia has a lot of experience and they are the favourites in this game. But we have the fans behind us and we want to win this match.”
Piszczek has become well acquainted with Tuesday’s nominated referee Wolfgang Stark from his time in the Bundesliga and ended by insisting he was the right official for the fixture.
“I know referee Wolfgang Stark from the Bundesliga. I think he is a good referee and we should not suffer from his decisions,” Piszczek concluded.
Meanwhile, other Polish representatives appeared in a defiant mood ahead of their match with Russia.
Kamil Grosicki and assistant coach Hubert Malowiejski also attended a press conference, with the duo stating they are ready for the formidable test that their rivals would provide.
Despite the diverse nature of the opening-day results, confidence in the Polish camp is high, with Malowiejski in particular insisting the White and Reds are prepared for their strongest challenge in Group A.
“Russia is the strongest opponent in our group. We have no fear, we will be tactically prepared for this match - they will not surprise us,” the assistant coach told reporters. “The best players from Russia are playing in Zenit [St Petersburg] and CSKA [Moscow] and they know each other well, so that is their main strength.”
Malowiejski moved on to stress that the Poles were only focused on their own group at this point in time rather than thinking about potential quarter-final opponents.
“We are not looking [at] what happens in Group B because we must first concentrate on our things and the matches against Russia and Czech Republic.''
The coach’s assurances were echoed by Kamil Grosicki, who highlighted Poland’s counterattacking threat as its key weapon against Russia.
“The Russians will attack us. We must play from the counter attack but I think that we are well prepared for it because we have played many games from the counter attack," the Sivasspor midfielder added. "We have two fast wingers with [Jakub] Blaszczykowski and [Maciej] Rybus."
With regards to his own personal aims at Euro 2012, Grosicki is solely fixated on getting onto the pitch for Poland, with Greece's equalizer preventing him from doing so in Friday’s 1-1 draw.
“I hope that I can play at least 15 minutes against Russia. I train hard and I want to play. Last time [against Greece] I could not play because of the goal Greece scored and a different tactic after that.”
“In the end of the game I stand at the line but it was too late and unfortunately I could not make my debut at this tournament,” he concluded.
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