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World Cup: Poland plans to go on the defensive to outmuscle Germany

Poland look likely to use a defensive five-man midfield at the World Cup after the success of the new formation against Croatia, center back Mariusz Jop said on Sunday.

Ebi Smolarek's second-half header gave the Poles a 1-0 victory over an otherwise dominant Croatia in Saturday's friendly, relieving pressure on a squad battered by their fans and media after last week's 2-1 defeat by Colombia.

Coach Pawel Janas abandoned his 4-4-2 qualifying formation, dropping one striker in favor of a second holding player in the center of midfield with Smolarek and Jacek Krzynowek pushing up on the flanks.

"We felt more confident playing this way and it certainly looks like a good option, at least for the Group A game against Germany [in Dortmund on June 14]," Jop told reporters at Poland's training camp.

"It's not sure we'll stick with it against Ecuador, we may need to be more aggressive, but it is an option. For now we are concentrating on making both systems work better, we need to keep the ball more and do more with it," Jop said.

Jop said the poor previous performance, including a freak goal from a kick-out by the Colombian keeper, was mainly due to tiredness after hard physical workouts in their pre-World Cup camp in Switzerland.

"We are tired and that extra half meter of pace is sometimes what makes the difference," he said.

"Now we feel confident and in good form. The next few days we may be able to find some more speed and energy. For now we're putting Germany out of mind, all that matters is the game against Ecuador," he added.

The Poles also meet Costa Rica in Hanover on June 20.

Meanwhile, a senior Polish soccer official said on Sunday that the squad would receive, collectively, a cool US$6 million if they managed to win the World Cup.

"In this way we have joined together with the team," said Michal Listkiewicz, President of the Polish Football Federation.

Listkiewicz declined to give many further details, including what the players would be paid if they were knocked out in the knockout phase.

The federation would consider the side being knocked out of the tournament because of a poor refereeing decision differently from poor overall performances by the team, Listkiewicz said.

"We would have to take something like that under consideration," Listkiewicz said.
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