The saga of choosing a new coach is coming to an end. On Tuesday, January 24, Cezary Kulesza will announce at a special press conference who will lead the Polish national team in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The president of the PZPN revealed that it will be a foreigner. . On Monday, the Portuguese appeared at the Chopin airport in the company of two people. Then everyone – probably – went to meet Kulesza. Our reports were also confirmed by Fabrizio Romano. .
Will Santos break the debut curse? He’s already done that in the past. He won against Greece
Santos is an experienced trainer. In the past, he led two national teams and was very successful with them. In the years 2010-2014 he was on the coaching bench of Greece. On August 11, 2010, he made his debut as a coach. Then his team won 1-0 in a friendly against Serbia. Santos found himself in the new team very quickly, as evidenced by the statistics. Greece did not lose the first 17 matches under his tenure. He scored goalless with Poland in a sparring match in 2011. His excellent streak was broken only by Romania – on November 15, 2011, Santos players suffered a 1:3 defeat.
Ultimately, the Portuguese led Greece in 49 matches. He triumphed in 26 of them, 16 ended in a draw and only 7 lost. He averaged 1.92 points per game. In Euro 2012 they reached the quarter-finals, and in the 2014 World Cup they qualified for the 1/8 finals.
Later, Santos took over the Portugal national team. With this team he was even more successful than with Greece, although the beginning was not promising. In his debut on the coaching bench, he lost 1-2 in a friendly against France. It took place on October 11, 2014. However, in the next four meetings, Portugal was on top. Later, he alternated between good matches and weaker ones, but eventually he managed to qualify for Euro 2016. There, his team was successful. She reached the finals, eliminating … Poland along the way. Portugal defeated France 1-0 in the final to win the league title.
Although the beginnings were not promising, Santos can boast of solid statistics. He has led Portugal in 109 games, winning 68, drawing 21 and losing 20. This gives an average of 2.06 points per game.
Polish fans hope that Santos will develop equally successful statistics with the White and Reds. The result of his debut will also be important. Everyone is wondering if he will break the curse that hangs over the selectors of the Polish national team this century – none has won the first match yet. The last one who managed to do that was Janusz Wójcik. It took place on September 6, 1997, so 25 years ago. Then Poland defeated Hungary 1:0 in a friendly.
Czesław Michniewicz also had a promising start. . In the next two matches he won. .
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A big challenge for Fernando Santos. We will find out on January 24 whether the Portuguese will eventually become the new coach. The first test for the coach will be the Euro 2024 qualifiers. These will start in two months. The debut on the coaching bench will be the meeting with the Czech Republic – March 24, 2023.
Source: Sport
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