“Kuba” may be on Dortmund bench but he can still make Baines' life hell

The news that Poland’s seating allocation was doubled to 18,000 for their trip to Wembley this evening sparked a variety of typically English reactions. But while most of the nation was searching for something to moan about, Roy Hodgson was preparing his troops for what could turn out to be an arduous battle. England not qualifying for the World Cup next year would be unimaginable to the majority but win against Poland and South America will be littered with sun-burnt Brits looking for the nearest Greggs, it’s as simple as that. But Waldemar Fornalik’s men aren’t about to roll over and get their belly tickled.

While all eyes are likely to be on Borussia Dortmund frontman Robert Lewandowski in the capital tonight, there is another thorn that the Three Lions can’t afford to let puncture their hopes – Jakub Blaszczykowski.

The Polish trio of Blaszczykowski, Lewandowski and Lukasz Piszczek have been crucial to Jurgen Klopp’s success with Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park, and although the latter will play no part in tonight’s clash, the former two will have to be dislodged from proceedings.

Blaszczykowski has gone from the unpronounceable to the unforgettable over the past few years, and rightly so. He has lit up the Bundesliga for Dortmund and will lead an energetic midfield in what is almost 40 years to the day that The White Eagles scuppered England’s chances of reaching the 1974 World Cup.

Fornalik’s preference towards younger, more mobile players should allow Blaszczykowski to sparkle. His blistering pace is by far his strongest asset, however there is much more to the 27-year-old’s game than raw speed.

Blaszczykowski has impeccable technique. Sat beside the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze last season, Kuba, as he is known to most, constructed 38 goal-scoring opportunities for his team-mates – nine of which were assists. Although Blaszczykowski is a wide man, he also enjoys tucking inside and letting rip at goal.

Blaszczykowski’s shots on goal last season

You can see by his 38 shots last season that he is more likely to drift inside when on the left flank to take a pop at goal, but more often than not he will pick a pass if placed outside the 20-yard box. This is backed up by the fact all 11 of his goals from last term were scored from close range.

Blaszczykowski’s goals from pitch view

The arrival of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have restricted Kuba to just seven bit-part performances this season, despite the latter being a central player, but he has refused to allow it to hinder his performances. So far this term he has sculpted six key passes and an assist in just 270 minutes of football.

Another major feature of Kuba’s game is attacking opposing full-backs, which has the potential to ignite an intriguing battle between him and Leighton Baines.

The Everton left-back will be determined to bomb forward and offer himself as an attacking outlet – he created 116 chances last season, which is more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi combined – and will need to be careful not to leave whoever is deployed next to him isolated should Poland spring one of their counter-attacks.

Baines’ chances created last season. More than Ronaldo and Messi combined.

England are likely to boss the possession and have the visitors chasing for large chunks of the game, but when Poland break, they break with both speed and purpose and Blaszczykowski will be at the forefront of that. The bulk of England fans are confident of a result this evening, and probably rightly so, but with the calibre of players leading the Poland attack and perhaps a few nerves spreading through the Wembley changing rooms you can never be too certain. Write them off at your peril.