Across Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Krakow, there is a sense of unease right now. It is a matter of days until Euro 2012 takes grip of these cities and yet for citizens who should be rejoicing in Poland's greatest moment since independence from communism 23 years ago, there are concerns that the party to come will prove rather anticlimactic.
From the outside that may seem rather strange. After all, Poland have lost only two of their past 14 matches – prior to Saturday night's friendly with Andorra – and those a 1-0 defeat to France a year ago and a 2-0 loss to Italy last November. Since then, Franciszek Smuda's side have secured draws against notable opponents such as Germany and Portugal and, before the France game, beat Argentina 2-1. It is the sort of run that should fuel hope of the co-hosts qualifying for the knockout stages of a European Championship for the first time.
But as Maciej Iwanski, a sports commentator for TVP, Poland's largest TV channel, puts it, "every day is a nervous one" for followers of the national team, primarily because of how their defence is shaping up five days before Greece are met in the tournament's opening game. A once settled back-four has been disturbed by the long-term injuries suffered by the centre-back Damien Perquis and left-back Sebastian Boenisch, and while Perquis seems close to a full recovery having broken his arm playing for Ligue 1 side Sochaux in March – scoring his first ever goal for Poland in the 1-0 win against Slovakia last Saturday – Boenisch remains a shadow of his former swashbuckling self following knee surgery two years ago. Edginess has consumed the Werder Bremen player and it was from his mistake that Slovakia almost equalised eight days ago.
"We are not balanced and there are big questions about the defence," says Iwanski, who also writes for futbolnet.pl. "Supporters are also worried about the shift in emphasis Poland will need to undergo at the championships – under Smuda they have always relied on counter-attacking but, as hosts, they will be expected to dominate teams, especially Greece as it is so vital to get off to a winning start. Very few people feel Poland can become a possession-based side."
What is for sure is that come Friday and the encounter with Greece at Warsaw's National Stadium, Poland will line up in the 4-2-3-1 formation Smuda has fixated on since replacing Leo Beenhakker as manager in October 2009 following the national team's failure to qualify for the last World Cup. Running through that system is a consistent, young and ever-improving spine made up of Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny in goal and the Borussia Dortmund trio of Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski filling the key positions in defence, midfield and attack.
Lewandowski is the real star of the show. The 23-year-old has established himself as Poland's standout striker having scored 13 times in 41 appearances and there is a growing sense within the country that for all the problems at the back, he could yet spur the side towards success this summer. Form is certainly not an issue, with Lewandowski having just ended the German season with 22 goals and eight assists for Dortmund‚ for whom he also plays as a lone striker‚ as they won the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup, with the Pole scoring a hat-trick in the 5-2 final victory over Bayern Munich.
"We will score because we have Lewandowski," Iwanski says. "He is the complete striker: he can hold the ball up, run on to crosses, dribble and score from every angle. What's more, he is getting better. It is amazing to think that five years ago he was released by Legia Warsaw and forced to play in the Polish third division. Everyone in Poland is laughing at Legia now."
With acclaim comes responsibility, however, and it has perhaps been unwise of Lewandoswki to have been so consistently outspoken in his criticism of those members of the squad who were born outside of Poland and have shown little interest in learning the language, such as Perquis and the attacking midfielder Ludovic Obraniak.
Such tension can only be a headache for Smuda who has made it his task to build a squad that is young enough to use Euro 2012 as a platform for long-term success. Indeed, with an average of 21 caps per player, Poland's squad will be rawest at these championships.
"We have created a young team, one with an average age between 23 and 24 years, but who play 100% to their capabilities," the manager says. "We don't concede as many goals as when I started and, overall, we have made massive progress."
The aim now is to get out of a group which, alongside Greece, contains Russia and Czech Republic. According to a survey carried out in the Przeglad Sportowy newspaper, only 48% of the population believe that is possible. Given that Poland head into the tournament as its lowest-ranked side (65th), such pessimism is perhaps appropriate, even though their poor ranking is exacerbated by a problem all hosts face, the weighting Fifa, the world governing body, gives to competitive qualifiers compared to friendlies. But form and home advantage are on Poland's side and should Lewandowski rise to the occasion, then a semi-final place may even prove within reach.
