The reaction of the Polish media to the defeat of the team from France is surprising.
The Polish national team has completed its performance at the World Cup. Based on the dry result, we can say with confidence that the White Eagles showed themselves with dignity and even exceeded expectations – the team has not reached the playoffs of the World Cup since 1986. Nevertheless, for the last match in Group C against Argentina, the Poles received an avalanche of criticism from fans and experts – primarily for anti-football and a frank “bus”.
However, after the defeat from France (1:3) in the ⅛ finals, the rhetoric of the Polish press changed to commendable. Yes, the Poles looked good in segments. But is this really enough for flattering reviews?
It seems that only Poland itself is enough.
At home they don’t “poison”
In the opinion of many, Poland’s team did not even close to earning a place in the playoffs with their performance in the group stage. In the first match with Mexico, the Poles pulled out a draw, although the game looked much less acute than the Latin Americans. In the next meeting with Saudi Arabia, history repeated itself almost like a blueprint, but this time the wards of Cheslav Mikhnevich even managed to win, also with a confident score of 2:0.
Polish gloom culminated in the match against Argentina, in which the White Eagles cowardly defended 0-2 until the final whistle to beat the Mexicans in the group thanks to fair play points. In the ⅛ finals, Poland fell to the reigning world champion France, and against the backdrop of such a weak performance in the group stage, no one gave the Poles a chance. However, in this match, they finally remembered football, albeit only in episodes.
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From the first minutes, the French took over the advantage, but the Poles still snapped: they aggressively pressed and tried to meaningfully counterattack. It didn’t turn out very well, but Poland had killer chances at the end of the first half – they could well have scored. In the second half, this trend in the game of the Poles with every minute came to naught, which was reflected in the scoreboard.
In the last minutes, fate gave the Red-Whites a penalty after the ball hit the hand of the French defender. From the second time, Robert Lewandowski hit – this was the end of Poland’s path to the World Cup. In their last game, the team pleased a little more than before. However, there was no hint of a bright game. Nevertheless, this was enough for the Polish press for positive reviews:
Zbigniew Mucha (PilkaNozna.pl): The beginning of the match turned out to be ambiguous, but then our team played in such a way that we felt proud. It was for real. This match gave me hope. If Mikhnevich manages to finally stage such a bold and open game, as in the match with France, and even combine it with the results, then we approve of such a scenario.
Marek Lavrzynowski (Onet.pl): With France, the Poles entered the field for the fourth time in this World Cup, but for the first time they played football. Previously, they were engaged in some other sport. It is not entirely clear what to call what they played. But seriously, in the match with France, Poland showed that it still knows how to play football.
Radoslav Maidan (Onet.pl): We played primitive football with Mexico and Argentina, and I hope that this match with France will give the coach more courage, perhaps more faith in these players. With tricolors, we looked very different.
Overview of PilkaNozna.pl: The Poles played with high pressure, were not afraid of the French, and, most importantly, there was no ultra-defensive tactics demonstrated before. There was cunning, quality and hitherto unheard of… scoring chances. World champions did not expect such fighting Poles.
For the most part, it is difficult to disagree with the comments of Polish journalists. However, it is only surprising that the Polish team assessed itself at this World Cup too soberly. It seems that the sensational victories of the same Japanese, Saudis and Koreans did not inspire pragmatic Poles.
Cheslav Mikhnevich and his wards approached the tournament pragmatically – they made it to the playoffs thanks to frank anti-football. And before the match with the French, it seems that they did not even think about a possible victory. Are such teams needed at the World Cup? It seems the answer is obvious. The victory of the French team can be doubly rejoiced.
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.
This summer, the 23rd FIFA World Cup finals will take place in the USA, Canada and Mexico. All professional football players, without exception, dream of playing in this tournament, from stars such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to players whose names are not well known to the public (perhaps only for now).
However, some star and very famous football players are at risk of missing the next World Cup. The reason for this is health problems…
Joshko Guardiol
Age: 23 years old Citizenship: Croatia Club: Manchester City
Joschko Guardiol, the key defender of Manchester City, who has been playing for the “citizens” since the summer of 2023, suffered a serious injury recently – in the match against Chelsea in early January 2026, which ended with a score of 1: 1. As a result of the medical examination, a fracture was detected in the fibula bone of Guardiola’s right leg. Manchester City doctors immediately announced to the technical staff and club management that they could no longer trust the Croatian player at the end of this season. Yoshko’s estimated recovery time is approximately four months. However, this is the most favorable prognosis as recovery may take five or six months.
Theoretically, if Guardiol returns from hospital towards the end of May, he will have the chance to be included in the Croatian national team at the 2026 World Cup. Of course, the centre-back will have to go abroad without training and far from the best conditions, but… Without Josko, the Croatian national team will definitely lose a lot, because by the age of 23 Guardiola had already made 46 appearances and scored 4 goals for the “checkers”.
Takumi Minamino
Age: 30 years old Citizenship: Japan Club: Monaco
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Takumi Minamino may not be a world football star, but he can certainly have such status in his native Japan. In the past, the winger had a two-and-a-half-year contract at Liverpool, but Takumi never managed to become a key figure for the Reds. As a result, Minamino has been playing in France since the summer of 2022 for Monaco, which paid a large sum of 15 million euros to the British for his transfer.
In Monaco, Minamino is constantly a key player, but on December 21 last year, in the 5th round match of the French Cup against Auxerre (2:1), the Japanese midfielder was injured, and then doctors determined that it was a rupture of the cruciate ligament in the knee. The normal recovery time in such cases is 6-9 months, effectively ending Takumi’s hopes of playing in the 2026 World Cup. It will be a real miracle if the midfielder, who played 73 times for Japan and helped the Blue Samurai defeat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly match in October, continues to take part in the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Muhammed Salisu
Age: 26 years old Citizenship: Ghana Club: Monaco
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Mohammed Salisu, Minamino’s teammate and one of the strongest players in the current Ghana national team, also risks not being able to play in the 2026 World Cup. The former football player from Southampton, for whom Monaco paid 15 million euros in August 2023, was injured in early January this year and it is very possible that he will not be able to go to the USA, Canada and Mexico as a player for the national team.
Doctors diagnosed Salisu with a cruciate ligament tear in his knee. In theory, this could mean that Muhammad will miss slightly less than he would with a rupture… But in the near future, Salis will need to undergo several additional examinations that will help determine the severity of his injury and what treatment would be more appropriate to choose. And there is a risk here that further examination will reveal that the African has more serious injuries than currently expected. Then he will definitely not be able to play in the 2026 World Cup, but so far doctors have not specified a specific time frame for recovery. It is clear that we are talking about months, not days or weeks…
Andreas Christensen
Age: 29 years old Citizenship: Denmark Club: barcelona
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The Danish national team has not yet qualified for the 2026 World Cup. In March, this team will first have to play against North Macedonia and, if successful, in the play-offs against the winner of the Czech Republic-Ireland double. However, the Danes are seen as the favorites by many, but they will definitely have to earn a ticket to the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico without key defender Andreas Christensen.
The 29-year-old Barcelona defender, who lost his role as an important figure in the Blaugranas in recent years largely due to frequent health problems, suffered a partial rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the end of December last year and preferred a conservative treatment method. This in theory leaves Denmark with a better chance of continuing to play at the 2026 World Cup in the summer if they manage to qualify.
Eder Militao
Age: 27 years old Citizenship: Brazil Club: Real
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On December 8, 2025, it was learned that Eder Militao, the defender of Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, was injured. It was related to a muscle tear in his left thigh, which resulted in doctors deciding it would take around four months for the Brazilian player to fully recover. In fact, we should see Militao on the football fields at the beginning of April, two months before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
It would seem, what is the risk of Eder missing the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico? The problem is that Militao has literally become “glass” in recent years. It haunts injury after injury. Muscle injuries and cruciate ligament problems in the knee have almost become a “chronic” for the Brazilian defender; Therefore, no one has confidence in Militao’s real playing conditions and abilities to go to North America in the summer. It is worth noting that Eder played four matches for the Selecao in the 2022 World Cup; two in the group stage, 1/8 against South Korea in the final (4:1) and 1/4 against Croatia in the final (1:1, 2:4 – on penalties).
Justin Kluivert
Age: 26 years old Citizenship: Holland Club: Bournemouth
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Bournemouth and Netherlands midfielder Justin Kluivert, the son of legendary former Orange forward Patrick Kluivert, may also join the sadness of those who will miss the final part of the 2026 World Cup due to health problems. Justin had surgery on his problematic knee on January 4 and now doctors will try to get him back on his feet as soon as possible so that Kluivert can continue to be useful to both Bournemouth and the Dutch national team.
Predictions so far are that Justin will return by April. This will allow the football player to realize his dream and play in the World Cup, especially since Justin took part in six matches and made one assist. But you can think as far ahead as you want and, more importantly, how Kluivert’s recovery process will actually progress after he missed a total of two calendar months last year due to various injuries and health problems…
Levi Colwill
Age: 22 years old Citizenship: England Club: Chelsea
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Young defender Levi Colwill was seen by many observers as one of the key figures in the process of rejuvenating the England national team squad. Colwill made his debut in the “three lions” camp in October 2023 and was expected to go to the 2026 World Cup as he was the best player for his hometown Chelsea last year and is currently valued at up to 50 million euros on the Transfermarkt portal, but…
In August 2025, Levi tore his “crucifixes”, so he was away from football for a long time. Latest predictions suggest Colwill’s recovery is expected in late May or early June, making it extremely unlikely that this will contribute to the Chelsea center being recalled to the England squad for the 2026 World Cup. In the end, Thomas Tuchel in the USA, Canada and Mexico will need the most prepared football players who can finally seriously compete for the championship and are not limited to elimination at an early stage or a brave fight almost to the end, but without winning the cup. We would like to remind you that Football England was waiting for its second championship because it won its first and first in the 1966 World Cup.
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Brazilian football club Internacional has agreed on the transfer of the Russian midfielder CSKA Rodrigo Villagra. This was reported by the International press service.
“In the next few days the athlete will arrive in Porto Alegre to undergo a medical examination and complete the necessary legal and administrative procedures,” reads the note. At the end of these phases and after successfully passing the medical examination, the player will be officially declared a member of the Club for the 2026 season and will join the professional team at the training ground under the guidance of Paulo Pezzolano.
Villagra is 24 years old and plays for CSKA since March 2025. This season, the Argentine has played 11 matches for the club in various tournaments, without scoring any goals. He previously played for Argentina’s River Plate, Talleres and Rosario.
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.
In the Spanish Examples match, Real Sociedad and Barcelona met. The match ended with the score 2:1.
The hosts scored goals: Oyarzabal (32′), Gonçalo Guedes (71′). Marked for guests Rashford (70′).
According to the result of the match, Real Sociedad has 24 points, guests 49 points.
Real Sociedad will play their next match on January 25th against Celta Vigo. Barcelona will play their next match on January 25th (opponent is Real Oviedo).
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.
