Jan Urban announces changes to the Polish national team. A new face.

It's no secret how to unleash Lewandowski's potential. It's not like Adam or any other coach will tell me. He doesn't have to tell me. The team simply has to create as many chances as possible for him. Then he'll score more goals. That's how it's always been with the national team. When they played well, Robert scored. When they didn't play well, he didn't score. It's similar at Barcelona.

Of course. So what needs to happen for his teammates to create more chances for him?

They need to play better football. Simply put. That's also something obvious.

So let me ask it differently: what needs to happen for the national team players to play to their potential?

In my time, there were also rumors that we weren't fulfilling our potential. The fundamental difference, however, was that back then, far fewer teams advanced to the final tournaments. It's no coincidence that our World Championship medalists never played at the Euros.

However, there's no doubt that in my time, every player who left Poland played for their club. I'll go further: they were often a very important player in their team. Today, it's completely different. That's what worries me most. As a coach, I now only think about my players playing for their clubs. Then I'll have more room to maneuver.

However, it is often the case that they simply perform better in their clubs than in the national team.

Perhaps in the national team, a certain player isn't surrounded by the same teammates as they are at club level, which is why they perform worse? It's similar to when you bring a player into the first team who doesn't particularly stand out in the second team. But in the first team, other players have such an influence on him that he automatically improves.

This is a theory from "Talent Mine" that the environment you surround yourself with has a major impact on your development.

Not in all cases, but it is similar with our representatives.

So there's no point in calling Jose Mourinho.

He'd probably tell me, "Surround Sebastian [Szymański] with the kind of players he has at the club. Then you'll see how he plays for you" (laughter). I know Mourinho praises him a lot. But after the first half of the away match against Feyenoord, that probably wasn't the case. The second match was different, which is something to be happy about.

Jan Urban confirms. This player can count on a call-up.

Many fans accuse the national team players of not playing with the necessary commitment. Do you also notice these shortcomings when it comes to mental and physical development?

Our job is to play our best and not lose to, for example, Finland. This is precisely the issue that the public complains about most: that the national team fails in matches against theoretically weaker opponents. We only managed to earn a point in two matches against Moldova.

Something's wrong with our national team, as it's becoming increasingly difficult to beat mid-table teams, and we're also experiencing slip-ups against lower-ranked opponents. These are the facts. That's where we need to start: dealing with these teams at our theoretically best level. This is where we need to look for the root cause.

So why is this happening?

In my opinion, it's because many of them simply don't play for their clubs and when they come to play for the national team, they're not in optimal shape.

And now someone will say, "Let's take guys who are in match rhythm. For example, from the Ekstraklasa." Well, fine, but you have to assess whether a given player is currently performing at international or Ekstraklasa level. It's not that simple. You also don't know for sure whether a given player will perform well in the national team or not.

And that's precisely my role as coach and my staff: to assess whether, at a given moment, a playing but less experienced player will give us more than one currently on the sidelines at his club. It's a matter of judgment. Each case must be assessed individually.

You keep repeating "at a given moment." So you prefer to focus on the here and now, rather than the longer term, building certain players for the national team through call-ups?

Everyone has their own point of view. In my opinion, a national team should renew itself. It should be a natural process. Someone retires, someone drops out for other reasons, and someone else takes their place. It's not like we're giving up on senior players and hiring youngsters. In a national team, there's often no time to build something from scratch because there's always something to play for.

Do you have any surprising call-ups in mind for the September matches?

It will be difficult to appoint someone who is not on the media's radar.

So let me put it another way: a non-obvious calling.

I'm pleased with Janek Ziółkowski's good attitude. Oh, I'll say it.

I understand. You keep saying you're not closing yourself off to anyone. What about older players who haven't been called up for some time?

I don't really care about a player's age. I just care about whether they can play football. If they can and are in good form, they have a good chance of being called up.

Kamil Grosicki is in form right now.

I told him he'd be monitored just like the other players. If he's in good form, and there's no better player in his position, or only one, then we can consider calling him up.

I don't look at age, because if we were to do that, we would have to kick out "Grosik", "Lewy" or other older players from this squad.

So Artur Jędrzejczyk may be thinking about returning to the national team.

Of course. Anyone can. They just have to play football well.

It's not just Robert Lewandowski. Piotr Zieliński may also miss the training camp.

Do you already have a lineup in mind for the match against the Netherlands?

Practically, yes. But we see what's happening. Robert Lewandowski—will he be ready or not? Piotrek Zieliński? Similarly. For me, they're the best players in the national team. They have incredible skills. Even if they complain about Zieliński quite often, it doesn't change the fact that he's an excellent player. I KNOW IT. And I know not everyone thinks so.

Zieliński last played three months ago. Is there a risk he won't be able to attend the September training camp?

That may be the case. We are aware of this. Some things cannot be avoided.

If this were to happen, could the resolution of the captain's armband issue be postponed until the next training camp?

No. Regardless of whether Piotrek attends training camp, we need to resolve this issue now. It won't be like this will resolve itself if Piotrek isn't there. I want to resolve the armband issue once and for all.

Do you already know how to do this?

Yes. I'll see if this is what the players want or not. I'll listen to them. Or maybe I already have...

Aren't you thinking of some Solomonic solution like Jan Bednarek?

And you weren't supposed to ask (laughter).

But about "Ziel" or "Lewy".

I won't answer because I'd be entering into speculation. Once everything is clear, we'll communicate it appropriately.

Jan Urban reveals: such a person will join us

Is it already a foregone conclusion that we will play with four defenders?

We're thinking about it. At the same time, we're not forgetting the formation they've been playing in for a long time. Everything will depend on which players we have available for a given match. If we can't play with a four-man defense, we'll stick with a three-man defense. It's no secret that there's currently no clear left-back. Some might say: Wdowik, Puchacz, Reca. But here we come back to the question of whether this is currently international level.

And what about Yarek Gąsiorowski? I'm not asking in the context of playing left back, because—contrary to what some people have tried to spread—he's primarily a center-back.

We know the topic.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to invite him to a match in Rotterdam first? Eindhoven, where he usually plays, isn't far away.

I understand. For now, he's in a position where he can wait for proposals from both sides [his mother is Spanish, his father is Polish, born in Spain].

Yarek Gąsiorowski scored a goal and provided an assist in his league debut for PSV:

What about adding another physical preparation coach to the staff?

Such a person will join us.

Is Juan Iribarren already in the blocks?

But I never said he was the one being considered.

I ask because Mauritania could be eliminated from the African Nations Championship on Saturday, so your good friend may already be available.

As I said, we'll add a fitness specialist to our team. Whether it'll be Juan or someone else remains to be seen.

According to media reports, the team's staff is quite skeptical about the direction Marcin Bułka has chosen.

Oh, you'd have to schedule a meeting with the goalkeeping coaches. They'll tell you everything.

So let's extend this to other players. Krzysztof Piątek moved to a league worse than the Saudi one.

Each case requires individual assessment. It depends on who's playing for whom and who's coaching them. It varies across the Middle East.

You've already said you want to leave the decision on goalkeeper selection to goalkeeping coaches. But are you leaning towards a fixed starting lineup, or will there be a rotation like Michał Probierz's?

I could tell you my opinion, but it's up to the goalkeeping coaches to decide. Unless something clearly doesn't suit me, then I'll say this one's playing, and that's it. But I trust Andrzej Dawidziuk and Józek Młynarczyk.

Lukas Podolski, assistant to Jan Urban?

When the search for a coach to replace Paulo Sousa was underway, Jan Urban, who would be assisted by Lukas Podolski, surfaced in the media. Was that really the case?

Now you've probably figured it out (laughter).

None of those things.

Let me answer this: it hasn't even occurred to me right now. And I don't think Lukas has either.

Recently, every coach has left the national team in a very bad mood. Why will this one succeed for you?

But I don't know if I'll succeed. I believe it will get better. It's hard not to believe it. Every coaching change is for the better. My situation is no different. Czarek Kulesza decided: let's give Urban a chance, because he'll get more out of this team. It's one big unknown. However, I believe that what we propose to the team will actually bring results.

Today I'm talking to you this way. After the first two matches, we might be talking differently, after the next ones even differently, and after the next ones, we might not have the opportunity to talk at all. That's the coach's reality. And I'm not going to be offended by it.