World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
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1 vs 1
Played
October 17, 2012 4:00 PM BST
Stadion Narodowy — Warszawa
Referee:‬ G. Rocchi‎
Attendance:‬ 43000‎
 
70′ Kamil Glik
Wayne Rooney 31′

Poland - England Preview: Hosts looking to end 39-year wait for a win over the Three Lions

Roy Hodgson’s men travel to Warsaw hoping to defend their position at the top of Group H, but the White Eagles will pose a far sterner test than San Marino

By Ewan Roberts

More On :  England, Poland, Poland vs England
Lewandowski (Poland v Greece)
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  PROBABLE LINEUPS

POLAND

Tyton
Piszczek, Glik, Wasilewski, Wawrzyniak
Borysiuk, Krychowiak
Mierzejewski, Obraniak, Grosicki
Lewandowski
ENGLAND

Hart
Johnson, Jagielka, Lescott, Cole
Gerrard, Carrick
Milner, Rooney, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Welbeck

Newly-appointed Poland manager Waldemar Fornalik is without national team captain Jakub Blaszczykowski, who turned his ankle on domestic duty with Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal goalkeeping pair Wojciech Szczesny (foot) and Lukasz Fabianski (shoulder) are both injured, so Przemyslaw Tyton is expected to start in goal.

Eugen Polanski is also a major doubt, after leaving the Polish camp on Thursday to deal with personal issues, so Grzegorz Krychowiak and Ariel Borysiuk, who started in Poland’s friendly against South Africa, should continue in central midfield.

Skipper Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson will be available for selection again after serving their suspensions. Joleon Lescott, James Milner and Jermain Defoe, all rested against San Marino because they were a yellow card away from a one-match ban, could also return.

Theo Walcott (chest/rib) was forced to withdraw from the England squad after he was poleaxed by San Marino goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini.

Chelsea duo Frank Lampard (calf) and Ryan Bertrand (illness) have not recovered in time to travel to Warsaw, but Ashley Cole could return to the side.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Poland haven’t beaten England since 1973 when they recorded a 2-0 win over Sir Alf Ramsey’s side at the Silesian Stadium.
  • Waldemar Fornalik was appointed the new manager of Poland in July after the White Eagles failed to escape their group at Euro 2012. Poland haven’t qualified from their group at a major international tournament since 1986.
  • The hosts, listed 49 places below England in the Fifa rankings, are unbeaten in qualifying so far, drawing 2-2 away to Montenegro and beating Moldova 2-0 at home.
  • Skipper Jakub Blaszczykowski is Poland’s leading scorer in 2012 with four goals in nine games, but will miss the clash with England due to an ankle injury.
  • Just eight of Poland’s 23-man squad play their domestic football in Poland, whereas England’s entire squad play their domestic football in the Premier League.
  • England have only lost to Poland once in their history and are unbeaten in 39 years, winning 10 times, drawing six, scoring 27 goals and conceding just 10.
  • Steven Gerrard (pictured right) and Ashley Cole will make their 99th appearances for England should they feature, but could have to wait until 2013 to reach their centuries.
  • The Three Lions have two wins and a draw in their World Cup qualification campaign so far, scoring eleven goals to top Group H.
  • Wayne Rooney’s double against San Marino took him to fifth on the England all-time scoring charts with 31 goals, overtaking Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse and Alan Shearer.
  • Danny Welbeck is England’s highest scorer in the Roy Hodgson era, while Jermain Defoe has struck 17 times in his last 19 starts for his country.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Poland 1-3 England
    14.56 %
  • Poland 1-2 England
    12.68 %
  • Poland 0-2 England
    10.74 %
Head to Head
World Cup Qualifying - UEFA ‎(WCQ)‎ Oct 17, 2012 Poland 1 - England 1
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Last Five Matches
Poland
Mar 26, 2013Poland 5 - San Marino 0WCQ
Mar 22, 2013Poland 1 - Ukraine 3WCQ
Feb 6, 2013Ireland 2 - Poland 0FR
Feb 2, 2013Poland 4 - Romania 1FR
Dec 14, 2012Poland 4 - Macedonia FYR 1FR
England
Mar 26, 2013Montenegro 1 - England 1WCQ
Mar 22, 2013San Marino 0 - England 8WCQ
Feb 6, 2013England 2 - Brazil 1FR
Nov 14, 2012Sweden 4 - England 2FR
Oct 17, 2012Poland 1 - England 1WCQ
Odds
Returns: Poland £150.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £32.50 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: England £120.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
22Przemyslaw TytonGoalkeeper
14Jakub WawrzyniakDefender
-Kamil GlikDefender
13Marcin WasilewskiDefender
20Lukasz PiszczekDefender
7Eugen PolanskiMidfielder
-Grzegorz KrychowiakMidfielder
21Kamil GrosickiStriker
10Ludovic ObraniakMidfielder
-Paweł WszołekMidfielder
9Robert LewandowskiStriker
-Lukasz SkorupskiGoalkeeper
12Tomasz KuszczakGoalkeeper
15Damien PerquisDefender
-Grzegorz Wojtkowiak
14Marcin KomorowskiDefender
-Ariel BorysiukMidfielder
18Adrian Mierzejewski Midfielder
-Rafael Murawski
-Waldemar SobotaMidfielder
-Arkadiusz MilikStriker
-Arkadiusz PiechStriker
17Artur SobiechStriker
1Joe HartGoalkeeper
3Ashley ColeDefender
2Glen JohnsonDefender
15Joleon LescottDefender
-Phil Jagielka
16James MilnerMidfielder
7Michael CarrickMidfielder
4Steven GerrardMidfielder
23Tom CleverleyMidfielder
21Jermain DefoeStriker
10Wayne RooneyStriker
-Fraser ForsterGoalkeeper
-John Ruddy
-Gary Cahill
2Kyle WalkerDefender
12Leighton BainesDefender
-Ryan Shawcross
-Adam Johnson
-Aaron Lennon
-Jonjo ShelveyMidfielder
-Andy Carroll
20Alex Oxlade-ChamberlainStriker
22Danny WelbeckStriker
Results
Group A Matchday 4
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Edin Dzeko Edin Dzeko
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Manchester City 		7 0
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Man Utd. 		5 1
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Man Utd. 		5 1