THE BALL – «Portugal is falling down» (Poland)
Marek Kozminski, vice president of the Polish Football Federation, took over in an interview with Tutto Mercato who does not believe in Portugal’s qualification against Italy for the 2022 World Cup. In statements regarding the current situation in the sporting world, the former player and current manager assumes that the Polish national team is focused on getting the passport to Qatar, but considers that the quinas team is in a descending stage of income, which could cost a place in the selection competition.
“We’re going to face Russia, a team of our level, and it will be a balanced game. Italy, with some difficulty, I think will also qualify. I see that Portugal is going downhill, they are very dependent on Ronaldo and he has also been less incisive. If a player of that age plays so many games, it is normal for there to be a reduction in form », shot the Polish football manager. It should be noted that Portugal and Italy were drawn in the same qualifying group for the World Cup, but they will only face each other if both overtake, respectively, according to the selections of Turkey and Northern Macedonia, in the first games of qualification.
On the eve of the Ballon d’Or persistence, Marek Kozminski still has no doubts as to who deserves to win this year’s edition, considering that “the winner is obvious”, despite the uncertainty as to which player will, in fact, win in the FIFA award.
“There is a difference between deserving and winning. Today we have Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Mbappé… they are players with the highest level of international marketing. But Lewandowski deserves the Golden Ball. Messi is a fantastic player, but let’s talk about what he achieved in 2021: at the club he didn’t do much. What weighs is a selection, because for the first time he got a title. But he’s on equal footing with Lewandowski, so it’s a matter of personal taste,” shot Marek Kozminski.
The Polish deputy manager of football also addressed a victory for Jorginho in the possible race for the Ballon d’Or, as the player won Euro 2020 and the Champions League over the last season.
“It would be a brave choice, because if we look at it, he won with Chelsea and Italy. I would vote for Lewandowski, but if he doesn’t win, I would add Messi, Jorginho and Mbappé to the list of potential winners,” said Kozminski.