Poland World Cup News Blog and Odds

Poland vs. Ecuador moments

2006-06-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

GELSENKIRCHEN- Welcome to SoccerWay.com's live coverage of the World Cup Group A match between Poland and Ecuador from Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.FULL-TIMEThe final whistle has sounded in Gelsenkirchen and Ecuador celebrate after earning their first three points of the tournament thanks to goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado.91st minutePoland refuse to give up but their bad luck continues as a great strike from Pawel Brozek ends up hitting the left post.
86th minuteNo luck for Poland today! Substitute Ireneusz Jelen hits the post, which prevents the Poles from scoring what could have been an important goal.84th minute - Poland substitutionOn: 23 - BrozekOff: 9 - ZurawskiPoland's last substitution, but it seems to be too late as Ecuador are more than likely heading for victory.83rd minute - Ecuador substitutionOn: 6 - UrrutiaOff: 11 - DelgadoThree minutes after scoring the decider, Delgado is taken off for Urrutia.80th minute - GOAL ECUADOR! (0-2)Goal: 11 - DelgadoThe match is decided as Kaviedes comes down the right side and passes to Agustin Delgado, who can easily score from three meters with the goalkeeper beaten.

78th minute - Poland substitutionOn: 5 - KosowskiOff: 8 - KrzynowekJacek Krzynowek has worked hard for Poland, but is now replaced with Kamil Kosowski.73rd minuteEcuador finally managed to create an opportunity again, but the attack ends when Delgado is ruled off-side.69th minute - Ecuador substitutionOn: 2 - GuaguaOff: 3 - HurtadoGuagua replaces Hurtado, who seems to be struggling with an injury suffered a few minutes earlier.68th minute - Poland substitutionOn: 21 - JelenOff: SobolewskiFresh legs for the Poles, as Jelen is brought on to reinforce his side's attack.65th minute - Ecuador substitutionOn: 10 - KaviedesOff: 21 - C. TenorioThe first change of the match, as Ecuador take off the goalscorer in an attempt to defend their lead.61st minutePoland are getting more and more dangerous now. A left-winged cross from Krzynowek is only just cleared by the defense.56th minuteEcuador will have to try harder to maintain their narrow lead, as Poland continue to push for an equalizer.54th minuteKrzynowek thinks to score but his goal is disallowed due to off-side, of course to the dismay of the Poles.51st minutePoland go for the attack in the first minutes of the second half, although goalkeeper Cristian Mora has little to worry about as it all just doesn't look convincing.HALF TIMEEcuador were definitely the better team in this first half, taking a deserved lead through Carlos Tenorio in the 24th minute.Poland look weak, and have not been able to create any real chances.42nd minuteValencia tries a low fast shot on goal, but it goes straight for the goalkeeper.38th minuteThe following free kick is taken by Edison Mendez, whose simple shot is no threat for the Polish defense.37th minute - Poland bookingBooked: 15 - SmolarekEbi Smolarek receives a yellow card for a tackle on Edwin Tenorio.31st minute - Ecuador bookingBooked: 3 - HurtadoIvan
Hurtado is the first player to get booked in this match, as result of a foul on Szymkowiak, who came storming down the right wing.30th minuteThe South Americans are close to scoring a second goal but Carlos Tenorio fails to control a shot and the ball lacks direction.24th minute - GOAL ECUADOR! (0-1)Goal: 21 - C. TenorioEcuador take a deserved lead! A cross from the right wing was headed into Carlos Tenorio, and the striker did well to head past Boruc for 1-0.20th minutePoland have a free kick near the left corner flag, but Zurawski fails to lift the ball over two defenders and a corner kick is all there is left.17th minuteBoruc has to leave his goal to sprint for the before it is reached by a forward, and only just managed to keep one foot inside his penalty area when catching the ball.14th minutePoland gets a free kick as Mendez fouls Krzynowek at about 22 meters from the goal. Krzynowek himself tries his luck but his shot goes well over the crossbar.11th minuteA shot from Segundo Castillo goes high, and straight into the hands of Poland goalie Boruc.7th minutePoland are the better side in the opening phase, although the only real chance was for Ecuador with Luis Valencia delivering a shot on goal.KickoffPoland kick off to start the second match of this FIFA World Cup.Pre-GameEcuador striker Agustin Delgado is fit and will be starting together with Carlos Tenorio.Artuc Boruc defends the goal for Poland. Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak has been left on the bench after a blunder in a friendly with Colombia last week.LineupsPoland: Boruc; Baszczynski, Jop, Bak, Zewlakow; Szymkowiak, Smolarek, Sobolewski (Jelen 68), Krzynowek (Kosowski 78); Radomski, Zurawski (Brozek 84)Goals:Booked: Smolarek 37Ecuador: Mora; Hurtado (Guagua 69), De la Cruz, Reasco, Espinoza; Méndez, E. Tenorio, Castillo, Valencia; C. Tenorio (Kaviedes 65), Delgado (Urrutia 83)Goals: C. Tenorio 24, Delgado 80Booked: Hurtado 31Match InformationVenue: Veltins-Arena, GelsenkirchenReferee: Toru Kamikawa (JAP)Assistants: Yoshikazu Hiroshima (JAP) and Kim Dae Young (KOR)4th Official: Lubos Michel (SVK)

World Cup Germany 2006 Group A. Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador.

2006-06-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hosting this year the most important soccer tournament around the world, Germany leads Group A. An old school team as Poland, form the old country; one Commebol representative, Ecuador, and from Concacaf, Costa Rica.

Sportsbooks odds give Germany most of the chances to pass to round 2 on top after that, Poland and Ecuador are the one’s that could fight for that second place. Even though, nothing is written, more than 90 minutes of good soccer is coming ahead and Germany is the big favorite in his group.

Preliminaries from all coaches, showed that among the group the lineup formation most likely to be play is the 4-4-2 formation. Klinsmann, used a 4-3-3 line-up and went back to the usual one after seeing that his squad responded with excellence under this formation. The opening game will be play with a 4-4-2 system in both teams curiously and an exciting game to watch and bet on.

Among the group, lack of aerial soccer and defensive effectiveness are flaws the “Ticos” have. Polish players’ height is something that could give them the advantage and something Costa Rica should worry about. Poland going forward is much better than defending, this becoming the key if the Ticos and Ecuador want to neutralize this squad.

The South American squad is highly concentrated in the same way as Costa Rica in looking forward on the aerial game but much more in the last defensive third of field. Coach Luis Fernando Suarez said he is aware of that and is focusing on that aspect to take advantage of other teams’ flaws.

On June 9th, two games from this group will take place. That group is on the watch of sports betting fans all around the world and their specific challenges and skills are the opening attraction in this tournament. We can’t miss it.

Poland vs. Ecuador FIFA World Cup Group A

2006-06-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

The Poland national football team (Polish: polska reprezentacja narodowa) is controlled by the Polish Football Association. It played its first international match on 18 December 1921 in Budapest against Hungary and was defeated 0:1. Poland won the Gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the Silver medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In the World Cup, Poland finished third twice: in 1974 and 1982.
Soccer is probably the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400.000 Poles play soccer regularly; millions more play soccer sometimes. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s and the Polish national soccer team played its first international match in 1921.
There are hundreds of professional and amateur soccer teams in Poland. Those teams are organized into the national 1st league and 2nd league, 4 regional 3rd leagues, 19 regional 4th leagues, 49 regional 5th leagues and many more lower level leagues. There are also Polish Cup and Polish Super Cup competitions.
The Ecuadorian National soccer team is governed by the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol. It was known in the past as one of the weakest teams in CONMEBOL, but it has been on the rise for the past decade, making their first World Cup qualification in 2002, and qualifying again for the 2006 World Cup.
In 2002 a victory over Croatia was not enough to get them into the second round of this World Cup. Without a doubt, Ecuador is the most improved member of CONMEBOL in the past years.
Ecuador was the undisputed revelation of qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan in the South American region. For a relatively small federation in one of the most difficult confederations of the world, Ecuador's second place finish in the trying group was a counterpoint of joy to Brazil's struggle -- the Ecuadorians finished one point ahead of the later world champions and second only to Argentina against all Sportsbook odds.
Top class players, Agustin Delgado, Alex Aguinaga, Iván Kaviedes, Iván Hurtado and Ulises de la Cruz lead the way, with Agustin "Tin" Delgado finishing co-top goal scorer with the Argentinean, Hernan Crespo at 9 goals. Although they didn't make it past the first round they were certainly no disgrace. In their last match they even beat the reigning bronze medalists, Croatia 1-0 through a trademark Edison Mendez mid-range rocket.

Colombian keeper scores as Poland lose World Cup preparation match

2006-05-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

World Cup finalists Poland on Tuesday slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at home against Colombia in their final World Cup preparation match before leaving for Germany.
The Poles, who will be facing hosts Germany, Ecuador and Costa Rica in Group A at the June 9 - July 9 tournament, were booed off the park by the 20,000 fans in the stadium after Elkin Murillo (19) and goalkeeper Luis Martinez (63) scored for the South Americans. Ireneusz Jelen found the net for the home side in injury time.
Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was harshly criticised after letting Martinez's long goalkick float over him into the back of the net.
Coach Pawel Janas' decision not to include Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek in the World Cup squad will be looked at critically once again after Kusczak's poor performance and Polish fans started singing 'another goal, another goal' every time the Colombian forwards entered the Polish area towards the end of the match.
Poland has scheduled their first open training session in Germany near Hanover for Wednesday and will be facing the Ukraine in their last friendly on Saturday.

The World Cup Preview

2006-05-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

By Graham Harvey

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

America loves “World Champions”.

Baseball has “The World Classic”, NFL crowns its version at the Superbowl, and the NBA finds theirs after a grueling season.However, this summer all these “local” events fade into insignificance when you realize that every country on this planet will be talking about, reading, and watching “THE World Cup” – no exceptions!

It’s taken time for a country that exports its culture to import the World’s favorite game. Even in 1994, those “funny men” running on grass in “silk pyjamas” did not catch John Doe’s imagination in America’s heartland.So what’s all the fuss about every four years when the world goes crazy and falls into a footballing trance while America carries on with their summer sports?Well, “The World Cup” embodies more than a team trying to win. Footballers transform into “warriors” – national heroes – and the football pitch becomes more than a piece of turf, it’s a battleground for global supremacy.

The World Cup is the only event where a team represents a country and 100% of its population gets behind them and lives every kick, breathes every goal, and cries at every defeat.As one famous British manager once told a reporter, "Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."Footballers have been shot dead for missing penalties, and two nations went to war over a football match (El Salvador and Honduras).It’s the “global game” – that’s why American companies scramble to push their products into every country via this competition. Look at Coca-Cola, Yahoo, and McDonalds – as you guys say, “They’ve got game!”So, who’s going to win?Of course, being English – you would think I would say England.

But sadly, after “our” coach (well – he is Swedish really) got caught out by a number of faux pas like having close bedtime relations with an FA secretary (who also had intimate relationships with other high ranking members) who spilled the beans to a “fake Sheikh” in Dubai about the team and then had “secret” meetings (well, secret enough that Britain’s famous media hounds snapped photos of Sven going into these “secret” meetings) with top domestic clubs.You can see why your average “Brit” thinks Sven’s mind is not focused on the Cup.In fact, after all these little snags, the FA decided to wish him “Good luck and goodbye”.Now, in your job – if your company says, “we’ve got a major launch happening and then you’re fired after it”, are you actually going to go the “Whole Ten Yards?” Not likely.In fact, the whole footballing world will be packed into one nation.

Deals will be done for players, and it is not against the realms of reality that while Sven is thinking about where he will be in August, his agent will be on the mobile phone talking to rich European clubs about Sven’s future employment.Now, what would you rather focus on – an employer’s ultimate dream after already firing you or a shiny new multi-million dollar contract with one of Europe’s richest clubs? Go figure!For the duration of the World Cup, teams take over hotels and make them secure camps.

So, within this secure zone, if you see Sven on the practice pitch or walking around the hotel with his mobile close by – it could be suggested that he is not waiting for Nancy (his other half) to call him to update him on missed episodes of “Lost” or “Desperate Housewives”!So who can win the Cup? Well, obviously it would be boring to say “Brazil”. But sadly, the talent within the side is amazing and a repeat of 2002 Japan’s victory is on the cards.What about another European challenge? Well, everyone knows Italy has a great footballing history. However, the sport is in crisis – it’s so bad that Sven talking to another football club about joining them whilst under contract with the FA – is small fry when you consider what has surfaced in Italy.OK, think about this and I’ll put it in American sporting terms. Of course, before any American lawyers start firing off writs to me – I am not saying that any of the following could or would happen in the NFL. But consider what the outcry would be if the New England Patriots were stripped of their two Superbowl titles.

Or if the owner, Robert Kraft, dictated who the on-field umpires would be for all their matches. Or picture the Patriots’ owner locking umpires in their dressing rooms after a game because they didn’t give “favourable” decisions, the owner’s son running the most influential sports agency in NFL, and this same man dictating who gets bought and sold within the whole NFL community. What would happen if the Pats’ leading QB admits to gambling on NFL matches although it is banned? Then the NFL chief commissioner resigns, and to cap it all George “Dubya” Bush takes some time off from his “crusade” in the Middle East to appoint a new commissioner to oversee the “damaged” sport.This scenario is exactly what has happened in the past month in Italy.

The Azzuri are truly “blue” and the dark cloud of corruption hangs over the Italian dream – there’s too much baggage being taken to Germany.So, if you discard England and Italy – two of the favourites – where are the dark horses to run against the thoroughbred Brazilians? Holland and Spain usually turn up, and when everyone thinks they’ll be the “belles of the ball” – they trip up on the global dance floor and never see it out to the end. France are always a side that oozes class.

Thierry Henry is in his prime, Gallas and many other EPL stars are at their peak – but can eleven stars gel into one cohesive unit? Germany for a month will tell.The minnows always have no chance. Sorry Trinidad & Tobago, Saudi Arabia et al.The winner is easy to predict – it is always the football fan that feasts on this extravaganza. The team that lifts the trophy – well – you always want a pundit to give his opinion and take a good stance. I apologise, but yes, I am realistic and yes, I know my football and yes, I want to be next to a young nubile Brazilian girl when they lift The World Cup on July 9th, 2006!

Poland World Cup Roster

2006-05-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

This list is out and it doesn not include goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tomasz Frankowski, the team’s top scorer in qualifying, and centre half and former captain Tomasz Klos were also left out. In their place is Wisla Krakow striker Pawel Brozek and Krakow fullback Dariusz Dudka who both have limited international experience.
Complete List

Goalkeepers: Artur Boruc (Celtic), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Bromwich Albion), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw)

Defenders: Jacek Bak (Al Rayan), Mariusz Jop (FK Moscow), Michal Zewlakow (Anderlecht), Marcin Baszczynski (Wisla Krakow), Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metallist Charkow), Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dariusz Dudka (Wisla Krakow)

Midfielders: Jacek Krzynowek (Bayer Leverkusen), Miroslaw Szymkowiak (Trabzonspor), Radoslaw Sobolewski (Wisla Krakow), Euzebiusz Smolarek (Borussia Dortmund), Kamil Kosowski (Southampton), Arkadiusz Radomski (Austria Vienna), Sebastian Mila (Austria Vienna), Damian Gorawski (FK Moscow), Piotr Giza (Cracovia).

Forwards: Maciej Zurawski (Celtic), Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton), Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow), Ireneusz Jelen (Wisla Plock).

Another eve of another friendly

2006-05-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the Lithuania-Poland friendly…Team Poland, like the other thirty-one would-be Cup hoisters, is facing the roster submission deadline less than two weeks away
Okay, let’s face it, aside from a couple of newbies and the continuation of what might be called a “goalkeeper controversy,” there’s little to hype up about tonight’s match against Lithuania (FIFA-ranked a neat #99 between Iceland and Cyprus).
The Poland squad is bogged down with second stringers, mostly due to private clubs’ unwillingness to part with key players. (We can only hope that more on-loaners will be on the pitch for Polska when the Faroe Islands guys come to Wronki on the 14th.)
As for the debut players, defender Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metalist Kharkiv) and midfielder Grzegorz Bronowicki (Legia Warsaw) have been named to the squad.
A closer look will most likely be given to the King of Cyprus Lukasz Sosin (Apollon Limassol FC) and Marcin Kus (Queens Park Rangers), both of whom have been impressive in league and national play; Sosin in fact was a human highlight reel in the friendly against Saudi Arabia on 29 March, forcing Coach Janas to sit up and take notice while the striker found the back of the net twice in the 2-1 victory.
The newest chapter in the continuing saga of Poland’s five goalkeepers (not including Zbigniew Malkowski of Hibs, who has been given no chance to be named to the squad) will at least be scribbled in tonight. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) and 21-year-old Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw) will most likely both see playing time tonight, as Janas hopes to whittle down his options.
Also competing for three spots on the World Cup roster are Artur Boruc (Celtic), who seems a lock to be named starter; Tomasz Kuszczak (West Bromwich Albion), a 24-year-old rising steadily in the ranks; and Wojciech Kowalewski (Spartak Moscow), who seems to be an early choice of Team Polska goalkeeper trainer Jacek Kazimierski. Kazimierski promises to visit Moscow to give Kowalewski a good long look-see.
A brief look at the goalkeeper situation with lots of quotes by Kazimierski is available at todayonline.com. Did i say brief? It’s really brief, which makes this serious dis from the immortal Jan Tomaszewski all the more breathtaking:
“Jerzy Dudek should act like a man and give up all thought of being on the national squad.”

FIFA World Cup

2006-05-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

The Polish Football Association was founded in 1919 and it affiliated to FIFA in 1921. Since then, they’ve been in six final tournaments: 1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1986 and lastly in 2002.

Their best two performances were two third places in Germany 74’ and Spain 82’; in Germany they play the third place match against Brazil, 1-0 was the final score of this match in favor to Poland, and in Spain they play against France for the third place in which Poland was victorious with a 3-2 score.

This will be the seventh appearance of Poland in the final tournament; in the group stage they will have to match against Germany, Costa Rica and Ecuador. In a group that has as the big favorite Germany; the other three teams including Poland, will fight for the second place to advance to the second round. This race for second place will be very exciting; all three teams have very good squads that will fight with everything they have to get those points to pass to the second round. The magic number could be 4 or 5 points in the first round if any of the teams manage to get to that amount it’s almost sure they have the ticket to the next round

With a population of 38.62 millions all the habitants of this country are very excited that their National Team is participating in this year edition of the World Cup. Due to their closeness to Germany many of Polish community will be going to support their team in Germany and make the players feel at home.

Provisional Squad

1) Jerzy Dudek. 12) Radoslaw Majdan. 22) Adam Matysek. 2) Tomasz Klos. 3) Jacek Zielinski. 4) Michal Zewlakow. 6) Tomasz Hajto. 13) Arkadiusz Glowacki. 15) Tomasz Waldoch. 20) Jacek Bak. 21) Marek Kozminski. 15) Tomasz Rzasa. 7) Piotr Swierczewski. 10) Radoslav Kaluzny. 10) Brozek. 16) Maciej Murawski. 17) Arkadiusz Bak. 18) Jacek Krzynowek. 23) Pawel Sibik. 8) Cezary Kucharski. 9) Pavel Kryszalowicz. 11) Emmanuel. Olisadebe. 14) Marcin Zewlakow. 19) Maciej Zurawski.

Five goalkeepers vie for Poland places

2006-04-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Picking out their best goalkeeper may not be easy for some countries but in Poland the decision is particularly tough - no less than five players are vying to be selected for this summer's FIFA World Cup™ finals in Germany.
Jacek Kazimierski, the man charged with training the Polish squad's goalkeepers, has been carefully weighing up the hefty list of contenders, four of whom play abroad.
He has to decide between Jerzy Dudek of Liverpool, Artur Boruc of Celtic, Tomasz Kuszczak of West Bromwich Albion, Wojciech Kowalewski of Spartak Moscow, and Lukasz Fabianski of Legia Warszawa.
"The decision on which three goalkeepers will be chosen for the national team will be taken at the end of April," Kazimierski told AFP. "Everything is still possible. All the goalkeepers being considered are of a comparably high level."
Dudek, 33, long regarded as a natural choice for the national team, helped Liverpool to victory in the 2005 UEFA Champions League. But since then he has been languishing on the reserves' bench amid doubts over his form.
"Jerzy Dudek should act like a man and give up all thought of being in the national squad," Jan Tomaszewski, 58, goalkeeper for Poland's legendary squad of the 1970s, told the Polish press.
Tomaszewski added that "the number one choice is without doubt Boruc", the 26-year-old who recently helped Celtic win the Scottish championship. "Boruc is very sure of himself. He's gifted with excellent reflexes. Unfortunately, he makes irrational mistakes," said Piotr Kozminski, a football writer for the Superexpress newspaper.
A third candidate is West Brom's Kuszczak, 24, who has surprised observers with the quality of his game, his spirit and commitment. "But he still lacks experience, especially compared to Dudek or Boruc", said Kozminski.
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Kowalewski has earned high praise for his performances at Spartak Moscow. "He has every chance of being picked. I'll go to see him in Moscow before making a definitive decision," said Kazimierski.
The final name on the list is 21-year-old Fabianski. "I want to go to the world championships, as the third goalkeeper on the national team," Fabianski recently told reporters.
"He seems still too young to go to Germany, but he's been acquitting himself well," Kazimierski said. For Tomaszewski, the solution is simple: "Number one: Boruc. Number two: Kuszczak or Kowalewski. Number three: Fabianski."

Sosin brace pushes Poland past Saudis

2006-04-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

Striker Lukasz Sosin headed two goals to lead Poland to a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in a FIFA World Cup™ warm-up on Tuesday.
The visitors took the lead after seven minutes when a cross found Sosin unmarked in front of goal. The Saudis fought back to equalise when Redha Taker nodded in a free-kick in the 27th minute.
Poland started to take control in the second period and it came as no surprise when Sosin was again left unmarked to grab the winner after 63 minutes.
The Poles have been drawn in Group A at Germany 2006 along with hosts Germany, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Saudi Arabia are in Group H with Spain, Ukraine and Tunisia.

US survivor of 1934 finals dies

2006-04-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Albert Harker, the last surviving member of the United States' 1934 FIFA World Cup™ team, has died, the US Soccer Hall of Fame said on Tuesday.
Harker, who was 95, died on Monday at a nursing home in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He had been the oldest living member of the US Hall of Fame and was a defender in the 1934 team that defeated Mexico in Rome in a qualification match before losing to eventual champions Italy in the first round.
As a left-back for the Philadelphia German-Americans, Harker won the 1933 and 1934 US Amateur Cup titles and the 1936 US Open Cup. He also won four American Soccer League titles with Philadelphia and was chosen for the 1936 US Olympic team, but could not afford to take eight weeks off to compete. Harker was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.

Dempsey steers US past Poland

2006-04-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Clint Dempsey's 48th-minute header gave the United States a 1-0 victory over Poland in a FIFA World Cup™ warm-up played in a snowstorm on Wednesday.
Dempsey, a midfielder with the New England Revolution, nodded the only goal after a cross by Eddie Lewis was dropped by goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
The goal came as a shock to Poland after they had controlled most of the match. "He (Boruc) made a mistake," Poland coach Pawel Janas told reporters.
"He said he was sorry in the dressing room but that's not enough. He has to do more than say he's sorry." The Celtic keeper had come on as a substitute for Liverpool's Jerzy Dudek at half-time.
The US, playing near a big military base where about 50,000 Americans are stationed, enjoyed strong support from the crowd at Fritz Walter Stadium and put Poland's defence under pressure in the first ten minutes.
"The crowd was great," said US coach Bruce Arena. "It was a neutral venue but we don't get this kind of support at some of our games in the United States. It was great the way the Kaiserslautern community came out to support us."
The Poles withstood the early onslaught and soon began to find their range with Borussia Dortmund striker Ebi Smolarek and Tomasz Frankowski of Wolverhampton Wanderers forcing Kasey Keller to make fine saves.
The first half ended with Steve Cherundolo going close for the US, hitting a 25-metre free kick narrowly wide. Dempsey's goal then opened up the game in an entertaining second period although both sides continued to struggle with their finishing.
"It was not an easy game for either soccer team," said Arena. "The snow in the second half made it difficult for both of us. We were unsteady for about 30 minutes in the first half but we settled down and played better in the second.
"It was a match where someone was going to have to take advantage of an opportunity, and we did. But it wasn't a lucky win, it was a hard-earned victory."
Janas said the snow, which started as flurries in the first half before turning into near-blizzard conditions in the last 30 minutes, helped the Americans.
"The snow didn't help us," he said. "The snow was in our face and the Americans had the snow to their backs so maybe it helped them more."
Arena disagreed. "I'm not sure the snow was an advantage to anyone," he said. "We've been in California for seven weeks so I don't think the snow was an advantage for us."
The US will play in Group E at the finals in June, alongside Italy, Ghana and Czech Republic. Poland are up against hosts Germany, Costa Rica and Ecuador in Group A.

FIFA WORLD CUP BETTING ODDS AND NEWS!!!