Jan Bednarek helped Poland to a comprehensive 3-0 win against Latvia in their European Championship qualifying campaign on Thursday night.
The Southampton defender started alongside Kamil Glik in the back four and kept a clean sheet, with his national team easing to a comfortable victory in Riga.
Robert Lewandowski continued his fine start to the season with a hat-trick as he inspired Jerzy Brzeczek’s side to an important three points.
Bednarek had little to do against a Latvia side that didn’t pose much of a threat, but Polish football expert Kamil Rogolski told Read Southampton that the 23-year-old’s display was a marked improvement on his recently unconvincing showings.
He said:
Latvia had very few chances to score; almost no dangerous attacks. Bednarek, with few opportunities to stop situations, just did his job.
Bednarek has something to prove after matches against Slovenia and Austria when his performances were very unstable. Glik, even if he has had a terrible time at Monaco, was better.
Bednarek only chose simple solutions against Latvia.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Few Saints fans will have been aware of Bednarek’s apparent recent struggles at international level, but it’s good to see that he turned in a composed display against Latvia.
It’s easy to forget how young he is. At just 23, he is one of the first names on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team sheet and is also an established member of the senior Poland line-up.
Working alongside the likes of Lewandowski – and particularly against him in training – will only help Bednarek improve as he continues to compete against high-quality players on a regular basis.
Hopefully, Bednarek can keep his place in the Poland line-up for their clash against North Macedonia in Warsaw on Sunday.
You can follow Kamil on Twitter – @K_Rogolski – for more insight into Polish football. We’d like to thank him for taking the time to offer his verdict on Bednarek’s performance against Latvia.
