France assistant breaks Poland down
French assistant coach, Guy Stéphan, gave his take on Poland ahead of the game.
“They have a lot of big players. There are two players who are very well known. Szczęsny, the goalkeeper who has made great saves since the competition began and saved a penalty. Lewandowski has 136 caps and 77 goals. A player who has played with Barca and Bayern,” he told FFF TV.
“We obviously know of Poland, but they are a team we do not play often. The last match was under the watch of Laurent Blanc. It was in 2011 more than 11 years ago. It was a match France won 1-0.
“Poland is a team that can obviously move the ball, but they look to play the ball long to Lewandowski. From there they are not a team who like to always have the ball. In their first three matches against Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina they have averaged around 35-40% possession of the ball.
“They utilise rapid transition and are capable of making the difference without the ball. Pressing high, but on defense they tend to crowd the middle also. Often they will line up in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1… but can also play in a 5-3-2 and play very dense and tight.”
