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Poland and Austria under pressure

— PHOTO: AP

PLAYMAKER: For Poland, Roger Guerreiro, seen practising on Wednesday, provides a much-needed spark up front.

BAD WALTERSDORF (Austria): Poland and Austria are under pressure to finally record a win at the European championship or be among the first to be eliminated from this year’s competition.

Appearing in the competition for the first time, both lost their first Group B matches.

“It’s all or nothing. We need a victory,” Austria coach Josef Hickersberger said. “So does Poland.”

Unfortunately for Poland, injuries have left coach Leo Beenhakker without some of his best weapons up front. Captain Maciej Zurawski has been ruled out of at least the first round games after straining his right quadriceps in Poland’s 2-0 opening loss to Germany.

The striker’s injury further depletes a Poland attack already suffering from the absence of speedy midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, who quit the team’s camp and returned to Poland last week after aggravating a hamstring injury.

A blessing in disguise

Zurawski has stayed on with the squad in Austria, but his absence could turn out to be a blessing. The forward hasn’t been in top form, and Brazil-born Roger Guerreiro, who replaced Zurawski at halftime against Germany, provided a much-needed spark up front with his vision, dribbling skills and nifty passing.

If Guerreiro does get the start, that would leave Ebi Smolarek, who led Poland with nine goals in qualifying, alone up top with Guerreiro directing the attack from the midfield.

The Austrians also proved their mettle in their opening 1-0 loss to Croatia. For most of the second half, the tournament co-host outplayed a Croatian side considered a title contender.

“We are still optimistic. I see no teammates who are down and out,” defender Martin Stranzl said. “We need three points against Poland now and everyone is fully aware of that.”

Austria coach Josef Hickersberger said his team “couldn’t live with one point,” and the tournament co-host may adopt a more attacking style against Poland in an attempt to secure a precious three points.

Hickersberger is likely to switch from a defensive 3-5-2 into a 4-4-2 system, giving a start to midfielder Umit Korkmaz and striker Roman Kienast.

Juggling players

Like Beenhakker, injuries may also force Hickersberger to juggle players up front. The team’s most experienced striker, Roland Linz, has not fully recovered from tearing ligaments in his left ankle against Croatia. The 26-year-old forward practised on Tuesday, but was clearly in pain at times, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he would be fit.

If Linz can’t play, Roman Kienast is likely to replace him. — AP

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