The 17-year-old isn’t having “a few good matches” in Portugal. Pietuszewski is the real deal.
In two weeks, Poland will play Albania. If Poland wins, either Ukraine or Sweden awaits in a winner-takes-all game with a World Cup spot on the line. That would be Poland’s third consecutive appearance on the world’s biggest stage.
But times have changed. Gone are stalwarts Wojciech Szczęsny, Grzegorz Krychowiak, and Kamil Glik, who helped carry the Biało-Czerwoni through tough times. The briefly-retired Kamil Grosicki still offers a threat, but he’s not the same player who terrorized Championship and Ligue 1 defenses. He turns 38 three days before the World Cup starts.
Then there’s Robert Lewandowski. For so long, Lewandowski has been an elite goalscorer — certainly one of the best strikers in Europe, maybe the best. But time catches up with everyone. The 37-year-old has scored only 14 goals for FC Barcelona this season. He’s still a starter and key player, but Lewandowski is not capable of carrying the same burden he once carried.
To his credit, manager Jan Urban has started to integrate younger players into the squad. However, he has held off on calling up rising star Oskar Pietuszewski, despite strong performances. Urban explained in a recent interview with Polish news site WProst that he didn’t believe the winger had done enough to justify a call-up yet.
“I don’t get excited so quickly about someone having a few good matches, half a season, or even half a year,” said Urban. “And they have to play for the Polish national team right away? In my opinion, it doesn’t work that way.”
To say Pietuszewski has only had a few good games is interesting. The 17-year-old had a strong start to the season in the Ekstraklasa with Jagiellonia Białystok, and became a key player for a side involved both in a title race and in the Europa Conference League. Despite reluctance to sell, Porto came in with an Ekstraklasa record fee in January, and Pietuszewski was off to Portugal.
To say he’s hit the ground running would be an understatement. He caused problems for the Vitória Guimarães defense, coming off the bench to earn a penalty kick in the 85th minute. Alan Varela converted for the 1-0 win. One month later, he scored his first goal in Portugal, sliding into the back post to open the scoring after only one minute in a win over FC Arouca.
That paled in comparison to what he did in the next game, though. Porto fans are unlikely to forget his goal against hated rivals SL Benfica any time soon.
With Porto up 1-0, Pietuszewski, starting from his own half, latched onto a through ball and found himself in a one vs. one with Nicolás Otamendi. Pietuszewski, undaunted, danced past the Argentine international and sent him to the floor before slotting past Anatoliy Trubin to double the Dragões lead. Porto eventually drew 2-2, but the 17-year-old certainly made his mark.
Urban and Poland have a big opportunity here. It’s likely the last chance to make a run in a meaningful tournament with Lewandowski, while the aging Piotr Zieliński is still in top form. The pieces are there, but Poland lacks a profile like Pietuszewski’s.
His combination of technical and physical ability is something that Poland desperately needs on the wings. Few players in Poland’s squad offer the dribbling threat the winger does — maybe none. Pietuszewski, who plays alongside internationals Jan Bednarek and Jakub Kiwior with Porto, would be a game-changing option for Jan Urban, even off the bench, to run at Albania’s tired defense.
This team could be special, and Pietuszewski could be a big part of that. Questions will certainly be asked of Urban if he ignores the 17-year-old and Poland’s qualification hopes die in March.
–
Image via @FCPorto (X).
