Poland FIFA 18 World Cup: squad, player ratings, tactics, formation & tips


Poland have not qualified for the World Cup since 2006, but after scaling the world rankings to eighth, expect them to be one of the dark horses of the tournament this year. They are a country who have a great record in the World Cup, having finished third on two occasions. With Robert Lewandowski leading the line, they have a great chance against any opponent. Can you take advantage of a kind group and take them deep into the tournament on the FIFA 18 World Cup update? 

Team rating

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Poland receive a strong four and a half star rating on the World Cup update. This is made of an 83 attack, 78 midfield and 78 defence. 

Poland’s potential World Cup fixtures

Group Stage

Senegal

Colombia

Japan

Round of 16

England or Belgium

Quarter-final

Brazil or Germany

Semi-final

Spain/Argentina/France/Portugal/Uruguay

Final

Germany/France/Belgium/Brazil/Spain/Argentina

Poland do find themselves with a very kind group for the World Cup this summer, and nothing less than knockout stage qualification will do. They open up against Senegal, who have some useful players such as Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly, but they don’t have the depth of Poland. 

Colombia are probably the group favourites, but there is no reason why you can’t pick up a surprise win for the Poles. Japan should be the whipping boys of the group and are the perfect team to play last as you look to rack up the goals.

You will face either England or Belgium in the Round of 16, and although Poland don’t have the quality of those two sides, there is still no reason why you can’t progress. 

If you finish second in the group stage, it would mean a potential quarter-final against Brazil, whilst topping the group would lead to reigning champions Germany. Either way, this is likely to be the end of your tournament, but can you produce a shock and open up the tournament?

From thereafter, it’s a lottery as to who you could face. Spain and France will be the biggest threats as well as Germany and Brazil. It would take a monumental effort to get to the last four, but when you’ve got so far, surely you will be eying the biggest prize?

Formation

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Poland use a simplistic 4-4-2 formation to make the most of their strike pairing Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik, and you should follow suit.

Juventus’ man Wojciech Szczesny (87 GK reflexes) is reliable in goal, with the all-round Lukasz Piszczek (84 stand tackle), defensive rock Kamil Glik (86 marking), Michal Pazdan and Maciej Rybus in the back four.

Jakub Blaszczykowski lines up on the right side of midfield, with Grzegorz Krychowiak and Piotr Zielinski in the middle and Kamil Grosicki on the left. 

Up front, it’s easy. One of the world’s finest finishers Robert Lewandowski (92 finishing) is joined by Napoli man Arkadiusz Milik

On the bench go for Lukasz Fabianski, Marcin Kaminski, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Krzysztof Maczynski, Karol Linetty, Maciej Makuszewski and Lukasz Teodorczyk.

Tactics

With so much firepower up front, you need to be getting the ball to Robert Lewandowski. He may be used to playing up front on his own, but in lining up with Arkadiusz Milik in attack, he can isolate defenders. His 92 attacking positioning and 92 reactions make him a real fox in the box, so just get him the ball. Look to pass and move between the two strikers, and if you get half a yard with Lewandowski, strike at goal. 

He cannot do it all on his own however, and with the wide midfielders not blessed with pace, it will be down to the full backs to supply width. Lukasz Piszczek (86 crossing) has a great delivery so make sure his attacking runs on the instructions tab is changed to ‘always overlap’.

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Grzegorz Krychowiak (83 long pass) and Piotr Zielinski (84 ball control) are two very useful central midfield players, and they will dictate the tempo of your side. Krychowiak will sit deeper with his high defensive work rate, and you have the option of playing the ball either to the feet of the strikers, or loft balls out to the flanks. 

Take the opportunity

Poland are very far from being labelled as favourites in Russia, with even ‘outsiders’ a generous tag. However, they have one of the most open routes to the final, and a quarter-final target for you on FIFA 18 isn’t unrealistic. Make sure you utilise your strike force, and you have enough at the back to keep out the more dangerous opponents. Something special could be about to happen. 

Poland squad player ratings

Player
Age
Pos
Club
OVR
Goalkeepers
Wojciech Szczesny
28
GK
Juventus
83
Lukasz Fabianski
33
GK
Swansea
82
Lukasz Skorupski
27
GK
Roma
77
Bartosz Bialkowski
30
GK
Ipswich
75
Przemyslaw Tyton
31
GK
Deportivo La Coruna
72
Defenders
Kamil Glik
30
CB
Monaco
86
Lukasz Piszczek
32
RB CB
Borussia Dortmund
84
Michal Pazdan
30
CB
Legia Warsaw
76
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