Poland national football team coach set to sign new deal

WARSAW - Poland national football team coach Jerzy Brzeczek will extend his contract until the end of 2020 due to the UEFA Euro 2020 postponement, informed Zbigniew Boniek, president of the Polish Football Association, on Thursday.

Brzeczek's current contract is valid until June 2020.The coach led the team to the UEFA Euro 2020 finals as the Polish players won their qualifying group with 25 points ahead of Austria and North Macedonia.

The Polish Football Association was to decide on the coach's future after the Euro 2020 finals, but UEFA rescheduled the competition to 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"I trust him. If the circumstances were different, we would meet at the Polish Football Association and extend his contract until the end of the year. As long as I am the president, he can rest easy," Boniek said in an interview with Polish paper Rzeczpospolita.

He added that it's impossible to appoint a meeting with the coach for now due to the safety rules in Poland connected with COVID-19.

In October 2020, the new president of Polish Football Association will be elected and Boniek's cadency would be over.

"We don't want to sign longer contract with Brzeczek for two reasons. First of all, in order not to put my successor in a strange situation, who may have a different vision of the team with a coach he will consider better than Brzeczek. Secondly, the team will play six matches before Euro 2021. In case of poor performance, you would say it's better to hire a new coach. But I believe Brzeczek will be Poland coach during the UEFA Euro 2021," concluded Boniek.

It's believed that the Polish players would like to continue their work under Brzeczek. On Thursday, midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak expressed his support for the coach.

"The coach and the players have to prove that they deserve a place in the team in every match. However, we have qualified for UEFA Euro under Brzeczek so I think he should lead the team during the tournament," claimed former Paris Saint-Germain player.

UEFA Euro final tournament will be played from June 11 to July 11, 2021. In group phase, Poland will face Sweden, Spain and a play-off winner.