New Polish generation set to bring back former success

Poland’s coach Patryk Rombel and his team are on two missions at the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 – first to forget the weak results of previous editions, and secondly to promote the IHF Men’s World Championship 2023, jointly hosted with Sweden.

The team booked their EHF EURO 2022 ticket as one of the four best third-ranked teams after finishing their group below Slovenia and the Netherlands. A 27:26 win against Slovenia was crucial to make it to Bratislava, where they will face Belarus, Germany and Austria in the preliminary round.

Three questions ahead of the Men’s EHF EURO 2022:

Up or down – in which direction is Polish handball heading?

Poland missed EHF EURO 2018 and finished 21st at EHF EURO 2020. They also missed direct qualification for the IHF Men’s World Championship 2021, but received an IHF wildcard to participate. In Egypt, they showed their progression, for example with a draw against their upcoming EHF EURO opponents Germany.

In their first preparation tournament for the EHF EURO on home ground at the end of December, Poland beat Japan (28:27) and EHF EURO 2022 participants Netherlands (32:27), but were defeated by Tunisia (26:30). They will work on their stability at the Four Nations tournament in Cuenca, Spain, where they face Iran, Spain and Japan.

Will the new generation already impress at the EHF EURO?

Head coach Patryk Rombel has integrated many young players, many of them from 2016 EHF Champions League winners Kielce or 2021 EHF European League Men semi-finalists Orlen Wisla Plock. Some experienced stars, such as PSG line player Kamil Syprzak, who missed the World Championship 2021, and left wing Przemyslaw Krajewski, are still part of the squad, but the future has begun for Poland. 

Players such as Szymon Sicko, Michal Olejniczak and Arkadiusz Moryto have developed in the right way and the full transition from the former golden generation – World Championship 2007 silver medallists, and World Championship 2009 and 2015 bronze medallists – to the new generation is coming to fruition.

Will the EHF EURO 2022 become the perfect promotion for the world championship on home ground?

In 2016, the whole country was in red and white when Poland hosted the EHF EURO – their first major handball event. In 2023, the new generation will make their fans at least as happy as in 2016, when they closely missed the semi-final. Expectations are high, and qualification for the main round at EHF EURO 2022 would be a step to promote the world championship one year later. Failing in the preliminary round could slow the enthusiasm. So the responsibility on the players’ shoulders is huge.

Under the spotlight: Michal Olejniczak

He is only 20 years old, but he is set to be Poland’s superhero in the next years. Michal Olejniczak is, besides Szymon Sicko, one of the country’s biggest talents, especially since he moved from Gdansk to domestic champions Kielce in 2020. At the age of 18, he already played two matches at the EHF EURO 2020 and was already a regular player in the Polish team at the World Championship 2021, where he scored 11 goals. Kielce is currently interested in extending his contract until 2027, another proof of his value for the future.

Self-esteem

“We know that our starting seven is composed of players on a high international level, with a lot of experience from the Champions League and European League,” says coach Rombel. But he knows the weakness of his squad too.

“Our bench is not as wide as the top nations. If we have to replace two or three of our stars, we might have a problem. We would like to have more players in Europe’s top clubs.”

Rombel says Poland’s opening match at the EHF EURO could be significant.

“The match against Austria is the key for everything. If we win, everything is possible,” Rombel believes.

Fun fact

The last major success for Polish handball was qualification for the semi-finals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – but they returned empty-handed from Brazil, losing to eventual champions Denmark and falling in the bronze medal match against Germany. Only three Rio players are still in the squad: wings Przemyslaw Krajewski and Michal Daszek, and line player Kamil Syprzak.

What the numbers say

Poland have always had better results at world championships than the EHF EURO, reaching the final in 2007 and winning bronze in 2009 and 2015. At EHF EURO 2010, they reached their only semi-final so far, but firstly were defeated by Croatia, then lost the bronze medal match to Iceland.

Past achievements

Men’s EHF EURO participations (including 2022): 10

Best result: 4th place (2010)