Poland will play two friendlies in Malta next month - PZPN

Poland coach Pawel Janas will be conducting a short training camp next month to assess new players ahead of next year's first qualifiers for the World Cup 2006.

Included in Janas' programme during the trial period are two friendly matches, on December 11 and 14, both scheduled to be played at Ta' Qali's National Stadium. According to the Poland Football Association (PZPN) website www.pzpn.pl, Poland's opponents are Malta, first, and Lithuania next.

A PZPN spokesman yesterday told The Times, that Janas will be taking a closer look at prospective players in the Polish league who could join the national squad. The Polish teams played their last round of league matches last weekend before the winter break. The championship resumes in March.

Janas has already selected 19 players, mostly home-based, to make the trip to Malta. www.pzpn.pl yesterday issued the names of those in the national squad selection. Janas still has to name a second goalkeeper.

Only one of those selected, Marcin Adamski, plays outside the country. The 28-year-old defender is on the books of Austria's Rapid Vienna. Adamski, like Piot Piechniak, Patryk Rachwa and Ireneusz Jelen, has never been called up before.

Last week, unofficial sources told The Times that Poland and Slovakia will be visiting the island next month for friendly matches. However, a Slovakia FA official yesterday denied the news.

Slovakia, he said, will be playing a friendly in Cyprus against Kuwait on December 10.

Meanwhile, a top Malta FA official yesterday could not confirm the news that the national team will be playing against Poland next month. Neither could he say whether Lithuania will be here as well in mid-December to play against Poland in another friendly.

Probably, the issue was discussed later on in the evening during a Malta FA executive committee meeting at the Centenary Hall. If the Malta-Poland friendly is confirmed, it will be Horst Heese's first official match since he replaced German compatriot Sigfried Held as national team coach two months ago.

Poland's squad for Malta trip:

Goalkeeper: Grzegorz Szamotulski (Amica Wronki).

Defenders: Marcin Baszczynski (Wisla Krakow), Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow), Jaroslaw Bieniuk (Amica Wronki), Marcin Adamski (Rapid Vienna), Marcin Wasilewski (Wisla Plock), Jacek Kowalczyk (Dospel Katowice), Michal Stasiak (Widzew Lodz).

Midfielders: Lukasz Madej (Lech Poznan), Lukasz Surma (Legia Warsaw), Piotr Piechniak (Groclin Grodzisk), Miroslaw Szymkowiak (Wisla Krakow), Sebastian Mila (Groclin Grodzisk), Patryk Rachwa (Widzew Lodz), Marcin Burkhardt (Amica Wronki).

Forwards: Grzegorz Rasiak (Groclin Grodzisk), Andrzej Niedzielan (Groclin Grodzisk), Maciej Zurawski (Wisla Krakow), Ireneusz Jelen (Wisla Plock).