Polish national team coach Fernando Santos has announced the names of 25 players called up for March’s Euro 2024 qualifying matches – against the Czech Republic and Albania.

Poland will begin the qualifiers for the tournament in Germany with a match against Czech Republic in Prague on March 24. Three days later they will take on Albania in Warsaw. Other rivals in the group include the lower-ranked Faroe Islands and Moldova.

Santos had already stipulated at the beginning of Friday’s press conference at the PGE Narodowy stadium that he would not answer questions about his team lineup choices individually.

“I never comment on individual call-ups,” he said.

“We have a list of about 90 names, from which we’ve chosen the squad. (…) I made these decisions consciously, regardless of whether I’ll be right or wrong. Today we have these names, maybe another time there will be others. But for now, the most important thing for me are the names of these 25 players”, the Portuguese said.

🆕 POWOŁANIA
Trener Fernando Santos ogłosił listę powołanych zawodników na mecze z Czechami i Albanią! 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/mXKB4eH9nl

— Łączy nas piłka (@LaczyNasPilka) March 17, 2023
Among those selected by Santos, a couple of players who created the backbone of the national team at the last World Cup in Qatar are missing, including Kamil Glik, Arkadiusz Milik (both injured) and Grzegorz Krychowiak. On the other hand, there is a newcomer, an American-born Raków Częstochowa footballer Ben Lederman (one of two players among PKO Ekstraklasa clubs).

Asked about a specific goal for the March matches, Santos made it clear that only six points would satisfy him.

On the sidelines of Friday’s conference, Santos confirmed that Grzegorz Mielcarski, Remigiusz Rzepka and Hubert Małowiejski have joined his three Portuguese assistants on the staff.