Poland ride on Lewandowski
- Coach: Adam Nawalka
- Star players: Robert Lewandowski, Piotr Zielinski, Arkadiusz Milik
- Best World Cup result: Semi-finals (1974, 1982)
- Performance at last World Cup: Did not qualify
Like the famous George Best anecdote, there's a tendency to look at Robert Lewandowski's stellar career and wonder where it all went wrong.
He's probably the greatest Polish striker of all time. He's already got 55 goals in 95 matches, making him the most prolific Polish finisher of all time. He finished this season as the Bundesliga's top goal-scorer with 29 goals and won another league title with Bayern Munich.
And yet, the nagging suspicion remains that he needs to make amends at this World Cup. Poland expect more from the predatory one.
He scored only once at Euro 2016 and didn't manage a shot on target until Poland's last-16 match.
In Munich, there's a degree of disappointment that his ruthlessness eluded him in the Champions League, leading to another early European exit.
Poland coach Adam Nawalka arguably overachieved at Euro 2016, reaching the quarter-finals, before going out on penalties. In an open Group H, Nawalka might also expect to reach the knockout stages in the World Cup.
But he needs Lewandowski to deliver when it really matters.
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