Poland might need Lewandowski's fire in World Cup. Here's the 23-man squad

Poland coach Adam Nawalka announced on Monday the final 23-man list for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, topped by Bayern Munich star striker Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski is set to be one of the Poland internationals making their World Cup debut in Russia, as Poland returns to the tournament after a 12-year absence, reported Efe. Lewandowski scored 16 goals that Poland captain Robert Lewandowski scored in ten appearances to top the European qualifying scoring charts.

Although Monaco defender Kamil Glik was initially included in the list, he was later replaced by Marcin Kaminski, having sustained a shoulder injury during Monday's training.

 

Poland heads to the World Cup with the successes of the 1974 and 1982 World Cups in their memory -- years when the Polish national team was among the semifinalists.

 

Robert Lewandowski. (Photo: @pzpn_pl twitter0

Poland is to play two friendlies before travelling to Russia; one against Chile on June 8 and the other against Lithuania four days later.

It is set to compete in Group H against Senegal (June 19), Colombia (June 24) and Japan (June 28). The clash between Poland and Colombia could prove pivotal, in terms of who will advance to the knockout stages. Both sides possess an array of talent that have the potential to set the tournament alight, and this match-up at the Kazan Arena may provide the platform for a memorable individual or team display.

There are likely to be plenty of goals in their matches. In qualifying they averaged nearly three goals a game and conceded more than any other group winner.

Poland's final 23-man list is:

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski (Ipswich), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea) and Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Thiago Cionek (SPAL), Marcin Kaminski (Stuttgart), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Jedrzejczyk and Michal Pazdan (both Legia Warsaw)

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Wolfsburg), Jacek Goralski (Ludogorets), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Bromwich Albion), Rafal Kurzawa (Gornik Zabrze), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow) and Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)

Forwards: Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli), Lukasz Teodorczyk (Anderlecht)