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Simply stated, fans and pundits alike believe the Eagles have now taken flight. Star striker and team captain Robert Lewandowski’s on the same page too. “Poland has a great team at the moment with lots of very good players. We can play really well and have a lot of potential,” he says.
Despite a 12-year absence from football’s premier global tournament, Poland heads to Russia this summer among the top eight seeds.
Their elite position is evidence of the nation’s marked rise in international football (in 2013, Poland ranked 78th in the world; in 2018 it sits in seventh position). A quarterfinal run in France in 2016, in which the Eagles broke from group stages for the first time in 20 years, and striker Robert Lewandowski’s ascendance (he scored an all-time record 16 goals in qualifying for Russia) are just two of several performance highlights that coincide with a revived assurance around Polish prospects — forcing comparison to the golden generation of players who, in 1974 and 1982, claimed third-place finishes on the global stage.
A balanced and talented group, including potential breakout stars Piotr Zielinski, Arkadiusz Milik and Karol Linetty, backs Lewandowski. In Russia, they’ll wear a new collection that celebrates Poland’s potent attack and the fervent support that garners its players.
“The designs were inspired by the pride people take in the eagle, which is an important national symbol and the crest of the national team,” explains Pete Hoppins, Nike Football Apparel Senior Design Director. “In France two years ago, the story was about the rise of the eagle. For 2018, that eagle is now soaring. Poland is a team to be taken seriously and they have the mentality of fierce underdogs.”
At base, the eagle is reflected in the kit design by a diagonal chest pattern on the jersey. Rendered in white and platinum grey on the home kit and in two shades of vibrant red on the away, the graphic represents the pride of the eagle cutting through the competition.
Along with the home and away kits, a full collection of training, travel and leisure apparel carries the theme of dynamic speed.
The 2018 Polish Football Federation collection features Fast Fit Vaporknit kits to facilitate speed through performance and aesthetic.
