Poland striker Lewandowski sends warning to Hart and England

[Lewandowski]

Poland striker Lewandowski sends warning to Hart and England

The Borussia Dortmund forward was frustrated by a wonder show from the Manchester City keeper last week but insists the Poles can find a way to win in Warsaw on Tuesday

Oct 14, 2012 10:33:00 AM

By Tom J Doyle

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski has fired a warning to England and their No.1 goalkeeper Joe Hart ahead of the two sides' World Cup qualifying clash on Tuesday, insisting the Three Lions have defensive problems his team will capitalise on.

The Borussia Dortmund striker was denied by the Manchester City goalkeeper's heroics during last week's 1-1 draw in the Champions League, but Lewandowski says Hart is not unbeatable - and neither are England.

And the 24-year-old believes his side will be able to exploit England's "defensive problems" to get a victory in the crucial 2014 World Cup qualifying match.

"To be honest, we Dortmund played helped [Hart] a little bit in Manchester - and so did the crossbar!", he told the Daily Mail.

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"Besides, we scored one goal so it's not like he is unbeatable or something. We can score past him.

"Maybe one goal like that will give Poland three points on Tuesday, and I hope to score it. We know England have had some defensive problems and we might just be able to surprise them.

"They're always going to be a difficult team but they didn't play so good at Euro 2012 and maybe we can hit form on the right day."

England are top of Group H with seven points after three games, while Poland occupy third with four points from two games, so the upcoming game is crucial for both sides' chances of qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil.

Hart insists he is looking forward to the clash, but hopes he will not be as busy as he was when he faced Lewandowski at the Etihad Stadium last month.

"Hopefully the game itself won't be as open as the last time I played against [Lewandowski]," he told reporters. "It is a big, important game for us and I'm looking forward to it.

"That's the beauty of international football - when you're playing away you're playing against the nation. But we will have that pocket of fans who we always take and are awesome. We will look to them and be inspired by them, which is great."

Hart also revealed he has a lot of time for qualifying games for England, regardless of his remarkable rise to star status at City.

"I enjoy playing football, especially for my country in big games that really mean things," he insisted. "That is the beauty of qualifiers and tournaments - they really do mean a great deal to myself as well."

 

[Drogba]

Caught napping: England keeper Hart suffers nightmare in draw with Poland but were sleeping pills to blame?

By MATT BARLOW PUBLISHED: 17:16 GMT, 17 October 2012 | UPDATED: 10:57 GMT, 18 October 2012

England nodded off in Poland on Wednesday and dropped two vital World Cup points after some players needed sleeping pills to cope with the game’s 20-hour delay.Wayne Rooney headed his team into a first-half lead but Kamil Glik equalised 20 minutes from time and manager Roy Hodgson was relieved to hold on to stay top of Group H.Some England players, who routinely take caffeine stimulant tablets before matches, had struggled to unwind after Tuesday’s game was rained off and those suffering most were given sleeping tablets.

Blunder: Poland's Kamil Glik beats Joe Hart to the ball to score the equaliser in Warsaw

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Goalkeeper Joe Hart shouldered responsibility for Poland’s goal after coming out to punch a corner, only to be beaten to the ball by centre half Glik.‘I came out and didn’t get there,’ said Hart. ‘It’s my fault and that’s cost us the three points.'But questions will be asked about the impact taking sleeping pills can have on a player’s performance. Poland mastered the sodden pitch better than the English players, who looked to have suffered more from the disruption of the game being put back because of a waterlogged pitch. Hodgson said: ‘I had the impression earlier in the week that the players were looking sharp and lively. I didn’t have that impression today. I don’t know if that’s due to the extra night, the sodden pitch or that we didn’t play well on the day.

Main man: Glik celebrates after heading home the equaliser for Poland against England

‘There are days when you don’t hit the heights. You just have to make certain you don’t go away ruing that fact. A point in Warsaw is not to be looked down upon.’Midfielder James Milner said: ‘You have all your meetings, you go into the dressing room and have your massages, put strappings on, boots on, tie-ups on, are ready to go out and then you’re told to wait and the game is called off. It’s not ideal but you have to be professional and prepare again.’

Hodgson took his team for a walk and a stretch on Wednesday morning and no-one tried to use the delay as an excuse. Captain Steven Gerrard said: ‘When you’re fired up, pumped up and you’ve had your massages and you’re ready to go and then don’t play, that’s not ideal. But we’re professionals. We’re playing at the top level and we had to get ourselves up for this but I didn’t think we were totally at the races.‘The pitch was slippy, wet and cutting up. I think it was laid a week-and-a-half ago. So it wasn’t ideal. Both teams tried to make the most of it and they did it better.

Opening salvo: Wayne Rooney got his shoulder to the ball to put England in front in Warsaw

‘The surprise was why they didn’t shut the roof the night before when it was raining. But that’s life. We get on with it. I won’t use the delay and conditions as an excuse. The reason we didn’t win was because we didn’t pass it when we went in front.’The draw means England will be overtaken as group leaders if Montenegro beat San Marino next month and manager Hodgson is looking for a big improvement when his side travel to San Marino and Montenegro in March. He said: ‘We didn’t play well. We’ve got to be satisfied we came away with a point. We were fortunate to be 1-0 up at half-time because we hadn’t played well.‘The extra day and stay over, the sogginess of the pitch didn’t work in our favour. But we leave here with a point, on an unbeaten run, and hopefully we’ll continue to progress and get the points we need.’
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