Nicola Zalewski will most likely be called up to the Polish national team for the upcoming September training camp, during which the team will play as many as three election matches. The 2022 World Cup. Paulo Sousa has been watching the player for a long time.
19-year-old Zalewski, who was born in Italy but has Polish parents, shines in the first meetings of “Giallorossi” led by Jose Mourinho. In the debut of the Portuguese, he scored a goal from a distance. Later, the Romans played with Triestina and in this match Zalewski also entered the list of shooters.
Sousa keeps an eye on him
The end of the previous season, as well as the high form during the preparations for the new campaign, already under the leadership of Mourinho, made the player interested not only in Polish fans, but also in the Polish national team. Sousa’s colleagues watched the footballer even before EURO 2020.
There is now a growing belief inside the training staff that September would be a good time to appoint Zalewski. The Portuguese coach is not afraid to bet on the young, as evidenced by Kacper Kozłowski. The team lacks interesting offensive midfielders, so reaching for Zalewski would not be that shocking. Nicola can play on the wing as an attacking midfielder and also as one of the side forwards in the 1-4-3-3 system.
Inviting him to the squad would be all the more justified as Sousa will have to omit Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piątek, returning after injuries, as well as Jakub Świerczok, who will play from Japan, and in pandemic times his arrival in the squad will be difficult or even impossible.
Preventive appointment
It is true that Zalewski is just breaking into the first line-up of Roma, but both he and Mourinho send a clear signal that the Pole can be part of The Special One’s plan for the coming weeks. If not in the top eleven, then Zalewski will most likely be watched frequently as he enters from the bench.
The appointment at this point makes one more sense. A performance in one of the matches el. The World Cup would put a player on fire for the Italian national team. In the calendar, Poland has matches with Albania, San Marino and England. We would not be surprised if Zalewski was given a chance to play against the weakest team in our group. In such a case, a footballer who also has Italian citizenship, according to the new FIFA regulations, could only play for the Polish national team for the next three years, and if he played in the next three official matches, he would not be able to change colors.
Zalewski has already declared in the past that he wants to appear in the Polish team: – Poland believed in me since I was a child. I am proud to represent the country. I want to thank my parents this way. Future in the colors of the Azzurri? I don’t think about it at the moment. Poland would be the first choice – he said a few weeks ago in the Italian media.
The footballer has already appeared in the Polish U-20 World Cup in the U20 World Cup. He played the entire match against Thaiti (5: 0).
Paulo Sousa will send out the vocations on August 16. The Polish national team plays el. Matches in September. World Cup with Albania (02/09), San Marino (05/09) and England (08/09).
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