Bad Waltersdorf (Austria): Poland and Austria are under pressure to finally record a win at the European Championship or be among the first to be eliminated from this year's competition.
Appearing in the competition for the first time, both lost their first Group B matches.
"It's all or nothing. We need a victory," Austria coach Josef Hickersberger said. "So does Poland."
Poland defender Michal Zewlakow took it a step further.
"We all know this is a match to stay alive," he said. "It's going to be a war."
Unfortunately for Poland, injuries have left coach Leo Beenhakker without some of his best weapons up front. Captain Maciej Zurawski has been ruled out of at least the first round games after straining his right quadriceps in Poland's 2-0 opening loss to Germany.
The striker's injury further depletes a Poland attack already suffering from the absence of speedy midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, who quit the team's camp and returned to Poland last week after aggravating a hamstring injury.
Zurawski has stayed on with the squad in Austria, but his absence could turn out to be a blessing. The forward hasn't been in top form, and Brazilian-born Roger Guerreiro, who replaced Zurawski at halftime against Germany, provided a much-needed spark up front with his vision, dribbling skills and nifty passing.
Also read:
Podolski goals gives Germany first Euro win since 1996 Podolski hopes to give Poland some help at Euro 2008 Croatia beats Austria 1-0 at Euro 2008
Beenhakker has refused to say whether Roger, who received Polish citizenship in April, will start against Austria, but he hasn't been short on praise for the 25-year-old playmaker.
"He's great. He's amazing. He's fantastic," Beenhakker said. "He sees solutions and makes choices on the field that are, well, it's Brazilian. I can't explain it in any other way."
If Roger does get the start, that would leave Ebi Smolarek, who led Poland with nine goals in qualifying, alone up top with Roger directing the attack from the midfield.
Despite their 2-0 loss to Germany, the Poles have taken encouragement from their play in the opener, and like their chances against a team lacking the star power of the tournament favorites.
"I think that if we play like we did at times against Germany, Austria won't have any say," midfielder Dariusz Dudka said.
But the Austrians also proved their mettle in their opening 1-0 loss to Croatia. For most of the second half, the tournament co-hosts outplayed a Croatian side considered a title contender.
"We are still optimistic. I see no teammates who are down and out," defender Martin Stranzl said. "We need three points against Poland now and everyone is fully aware of that."
Hickersberger said his team "couldn't live with one point," but that doesn't mean he plans to adopt a more attacking style than against Croatia.
Austria used a 3-5-2 system in the opener, but midfielders Ronald Gercaliu and Joachim Standfest played so defensively that the Austrians essentially had five players in their back line. Hickersberger refused to say whether he would make changes to his tactics or lineup against Poland, but he was likely to bring one or two more forward directed midfielders like Umit Korkmaz or Ivica Vastic.
"We won't play totally offensive, and I don't expect Poland to do so," Hickersberger said. "First we must avoid conceding a goal, then we must create and convert our scoring chances better than we did against Croatia."
Like Beenhakker, injuries may also force Hickersberger to juggle players up front. The team's most experienced striker, Roland Linz, has not fully recovered from tearing ligaments in his left ankle against Croatia. The 26-year-old forward practiced Tuesday, but was clearly in pain at times, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he would be fit.
If Linz can't play, Roman Kienast is likely to replace him.
After 2 1/2 years of friendly matches, the charged atmosphere for Austria's opener against Croatia left the team hungry for their remaining Euro 2008 Group B matches against Poland and Germany.
"You can't really get used to that (atmosphere), so I guess we'll still be a bit nervous when starting against Poland," defender Emanuel Pogatetz said. "It's a 'final,' of course, and it's our dream to play Germany when there's still something at stake for us."
Appearing in the competition for the first time, both lost their first Group B matches.
"It's all or nothing. We need a victory," Austria coach Josef Hickersberger said. "So does Poland."
Poland defender Michal Zewlakow took it a step further.
"We all know this is a match to stay alive," he said. "It's going to be a war."
Unfortunately for Poland, injuries have left coach Leo Beenhakker without some of his best weapons up front. Captain Maciej Zurawski has been ruled out of at least the first round games after straining his right quadriceps in Poland's 2-0 opening loss to Germany.
The striker's injury further depletes a Poland attack already suffering from the absence of speedy midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, who quit the team's camp and returned to Poland last week after aggravating a hamstring injury.
Zurawski has stayed on with the squad in Austria, but his absence could turn out to be a blessing. The forward hasn't been in top form, and Brazilian-born Roger Guerreiro, who replaced Zurawski at halftime against Germany, provided a much-needed spark up front with his vision, dribbling skills and nifty passing.
Also read:
Podolski goals gives Germany first Euro win since 1996 Podolski hopes to give Poland some help at Euro 2008 Croatia beats Austria 1-0 at Euro 2008
Beenhakker has refused to say whether Roger, who received Polish citizenship in April, will start against Austria, but he hasn't been short on praise for the 25-year-old playmaker.
"He's great. He's amazing. He's fantastic," Beenhakker said. "He sees solutions and makes choices on the field that are, well, it's Brazilian. I can't explain it in any other way."
If Roger does get the start, that would leave Ebi Smolarek, who led Poland with nine goals in qualifying, alone up top with Roger directing the attack from the midfield.
Despite their 2-0 loss to Germany, the Poles have taken encouragement from their play in the opener, and like their chances against a team lacking the star power of the tournament favorites.
"I think that if we play like we did at times against Germany, Austria won't have any say," midfielder Dariusz Dudka said.
But the Austrians also proved their mettle in their opening 1-0 loss to Croatia. For most of the second half, the tournament co-hosts outplayed a Croatian side considered a title contender.
"We are still optimistic. I see no teammates who are down and out," defender Martin Stranzl said. "We need three points against Poland now and everyone is fully aware of that."
Hickersberger said his team "couldn't live with one point," but that doesn't mean he plans to adopt a more attacking style than against Croatia.
Austria used a 3-5-2 system in the opener, but midfielders Ronald Gercaliu and Joachim Standfest played so defensively that the Austrians essentially had five players in their back line. Hickersberger refused to say whether he would make changes to his tactics or lineup against Poland, but he was likely to bring one or two more forward directed midfielders like Umit Korkmaz or Ivica Vastic.
"We won't play totally offensive, and I don't expect Poland to do so," Hickersberger said. "First we must avoid conceding a goal, then we must create and convert our scoring chances better than we did against Croatia."
Like Beenhakker, injuries may also force Hickersberger to juggle players up front. The team's most experienced striker, Roland Linz, has not fully recovered from tearing ligaments in his left ankle against Croatia. The 26-year-old forward practiced Tuesday, but was clearly in pain at times, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he would be fit.
If Linz can't play, Roman Kienast is likely to replace him.
After 2 1/2 years of friendly matches, the charged atmosphere for Austria's opener against Croatia left the team hungry for their remaining Euro 2008 Group B matches against Poland and Germany.
"You can't really get used to that (atmosphere), so I guess we'll still be a bit nervous when starting against Poland," defender Emanuel Pogatetz said. "It's a 'final,' of course, and it's our dream to play Germany when there's still something at stake for us."
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