Jan Urban appointed as new Poland coach, focuses on convincing Lewandowski to return

According to the official press conference, Jan Urban has been appointed as Poland’s new national team coach — replacing Michal Probierz who resigned last month following the controversy over stripping Robert Lewandowski of captaincy.

Poland currently sits third in their World Cup qualifying group behind Finland and the Netherlands. Urban emphasized his main priority is persuading the 36-year-old Barcelona striker to return to the national team.

“I’ll do everything to get Robert back, because we know the situation Polish football is in. As of today, we can’t afford not to have Robert in this team,” Urban stated.

The veteran striker Lewandowski — who has scored 85 goals in 158 appearances for Poland — has been boycotting the national team since the captaincy incident.

Poland faces two crucial World Cup qualifying matches this September:

• Away against Netherlands, September 4
• Home against Finland, September 7