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- Northern Ireland
NICE (EFE).- Robert Lewandowski, scorer of 42 goals with Bayern this season and 13 with his national team in the qualifiers, is the big star, the center of attention to which the Polish team entrusts itself in their debut in the 2016 Eurocup this Sunday, against a tough Northern Ireland.
Lewandowski attracts interest. Not only because, despite renewing with Bayern, he continues to be the subject of rumors, including a possible interest from Real Madrid, but because his scoring ability is what drives a Polish team that has never done well in the Eurocup and now dreams of becoming an alternative.
Not even in the times of Lato and Boniek, semifinalists in the World Cups of Germany '74 and Spain '82, did the Polish national team manage to qualify for the final phase and, when it did, in 2008 and 2012, it did not get past the initial round.
Now it arrives endorsed by its performance in a difficult qualifying group (Germany, Ireland and Scotland), in which it only surrendered against the world champions, whom they even defeated in Warsaw (3-1).
In front, Northern Ireland appears as a solid team, which makes knowledge of its weaknesses its greatest strength, which has led them to remain undefeated in the last 12 matches. "We are the type of team that no one wants to play against," warned their coach, Martin O'Neill.
They don't have stars, and that's why they rely on the spirit of the group, the same one that allowed them to qualify for the final phase of a major tournament for the first time since 1986.
In the qualifiers, Northern Ireland performed better than Romania and Hungary, two other teams present in France, which gives them enough arguments to claim that their presence will not be merely symbolic. "Being here is already a great success, but we have to try to make our players not see it as such," said O'Neill.
The main doubt for the coach is the physical condition of Kyle Lafferty, the forward who scored seven goals in the qualifying phase and got injured on Tuesday. In his place, most likely, Wigan's forward Will Grigg will play.
Possible lineups
Poland: Szczesny; Wawrzyniak, Salamon, Glik, Piszczek; Grosicki, Zielinski, Krychowiak, Blaszczykowski; Milik, Lewandowski.
Northern Ireland: McGovern; McAuley, Cathcart, Evans; Dallas, Norwood, Baird, Davis, McLaughlin; Grigg, Washington.
Referee: Ovidiu Hategan (Romania)
Stadium: Allianz Riviera, Nice.
Time: 13
TV: DirecTV 610