Poland victorious in Lithuania. A win and a scandal in the stands

It was an important match for consolidating their second position in the qualifying table for the 2026 World Cup. After a modest victory at the PGE National Stadium against Lithuanians (1-0), after a goal by Robert Lewandowski, the Poles had to be careful. It must be remembered that Lithuania is a team that has recently very rarely lost by more than one goal. However, as it turned out, coach Jan Urban’s team managed to break this rule.

Lithuania – Poland. Sebastian Szymański’s show. Fans attack on Prime Minister Tusk

Sebastian Szymański can certainly be considered the hero of the match on the Polish side. The midfielder, who was pointed out by many as one who should not be in the starting lineup, finally gained the trust of coach Urban. And once again it turned out that the coach felt the group very well.

Szymański scored a goal to make it 1-0, directly from a corner kick, and additionally added an assist for goal number 87 in Lewandowski’s international career – here it was already 2-0.

Unfortunately, there were also sadder accents in the form of events in the stands in Kaunas. There was a group of over 4,000 fans from Poland who, apart from providing great support, also set out to… insult Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The head of government appeared at the match at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Lithuania. Tusk not only had to listen, but also see offensive banners. It was an attack by fans that could only be motivated by political issues. And these? Nevertheless, they should stay far away from sports arenas.

Returning to purely sporting events, the Poles played a very solid match in Kaunas. The guests’ victory was not in any danger for a moment. Additionally, we should be happy with another match played without conceding a goal. Thanks to the win in Lithuania, Poland already has 13 points in the Group G table. Finland, which is behind the second-placed Poles, and having played one more match, is three points behind the Urban team.

Rescue from Jan Urban? PZPN with direction after the Michał Probierz era

It is worth recalling that coach Michał Probierz started the qualifying rounds for next year’s World Championships as a coach. The Polish coach remained in his position after last year’s European Championships, where the team failed to advance from the group. The Poles recorded only one point, although in a clash with the world vice-champions, the French (1:1).

Ultimately, however, as the following months showed, they highlighted the Poles’ mediocre play and on-pitch conflicts. For example, the most famous coach with Robert Lewandowski, deprived of the captain’s armband and… resigning from playing in the national team as long as Probierz is the coach. Additionally, the Poles lost a very important away game against Finland (1:2), complicating their situation in the World Cup qualifying group.

After the unsuccessful international break in June, the Polish Football Association left Probierz in his position, but the coach, under increasing pressure, decided to resign. He was succeeded by Jan Urban. The former Polish representative, most recently the coach of Górnik Zabrze, had a very successful start to his career, in September drawing on a difficult terrain in Rotterdam with the Netherlands (1:1), and then winning against Finland (3:1) in Chorzów. The atmosphere around the team cleared up significantly, and the aforementioned Lewandowski returned to the team, regaining the captain’s armband.

Urban added two more victories during the October international break. A win in the friendly match against New Zealand (1-0) and, much more importantly, three points taken from Kaunas for the match against Lithuania (2-0).