Poland

Poland finished its qualifying campaign for the Euro 2008 as group leaders, one point ahead of Portugal. But its journey there was shaky. Poland lost its first game against Finland 1-3. This was followed by a 1-1 tie against Serbia. Their first win came against Kazakhstan with 1-0. From there, Poland has been on a roll, beating Portugal, Belgium, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Poland's game against Portugal ended in a 2-2 tie. The team clinched its Euro 2008 berth with a 2-0 victory against Belgium, followed by a draw against Serbia.

Poland made an early exit from World Cup 2006. The very beginning was shaking, with the team losing its first game to Ecuador 2-0. Poland lost to group leader Germany 1-0, ensuring their exit from the World Cup 2006.

Poland was surprisingly eliminated from the 2006 FIFA World Cup at thegroup-stage. Ever after that many predicted more disappointment would follow in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008. But they were all proved wrong. After beginning their campaign with a 3-1 home defeat by Finland, Poland were rejuvenated and one man took much of the credit - the Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker.

Beenhakker replaced Pawel Janas immediately after the World Cup inheriting a side struggling to regain their feet after a dismal performance. Miroslaw Szymkowiak announced his international retirement after the loss to Finland and with Jerzy Dudek asking to be overlooked while he sought first-team football, a problem for a number of players, Beenhakker could have been forgiven for wondering if his decision to swap Trinidad & Tobago for Poland had been the right one. By the end of 2007, he had guided Poland to UEFA EURO 2008 as Group A winners ahead of Portugal. He was also being hailed as the Man of the Year by the prestigious magazine Wprost.

Injuries make the defence hard to predict, but a four-man back line is the one constant in the coach's formations that vary from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 and 4-3-3, with ball retention key. He initially replaced Dudek with Wojciech Kowalewski before finding his man in Artur Boruc. The creative onus on Szymkowiak passed to Maciej Zurawski, who thrived after being handed the captaincy and had a hand in many of Euzebiusz Smolarek's nine goals in qualifying. Beenhakker likes to use pacy wingers such as Jakub Blaszczykowski and Jacek Krzynówek with a couple of more defence-minded players in the middle. Of course, Radoslaw Sobolewski's decision to retire after qualifying could cause a problem. Dariusz Dudka is one option to partner Mariusz Lewandowski in central midfield. He had never played in the holding role before Beenhakker fielded him against Belgium but the veteran shone in a 1-0 win

Poland Euro Squad