World Cup 2022 Qualifiers - Poland’s Robert Lewandowski unlikely to face England at Wembley
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Updated 18/03/2021 at 09:57 GMT
Polish FA chairman Zbigniew Boniek admits the Bayern Munich striker will probably miss the World Cup qualifier at Wembley on 31 March due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, which would force the national team captain to quarantine for 14 days on his return to Germany. The same rule could prevent Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham from linking up with England.
Poland captain Robert Lewandowski
Image credit: Getty Images
The head of the Polish FA says it’s unlikely captain Robert Lewandowski will be able to play in the country’s World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley on 31 March due to Covid-19 rules.
Under the current travel restrictions, the Bayern Munich striker would be forced to quarantine for 14 days on his return to Germany from the UK, which the Bundesliga champions are unlikely to sanction.
The same situation could prevent Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham from being named in the England squad this afternoon, while Hertha Berlin’s Krzysztof Piatek also faces a similar situation as Lewandowki.
Both would be able to play in matches away to Hungary and at home to Andorra, but would be unable to feature against the Three Lions.
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“Honestly, I am tired of this topic”, Polish FA chairman Zbigniew Boniek told Interia Sport.
“The situation is not one hundred per cent dependent on us, it is outside of us, we can only intervene and we do it.
“It is known that the whole world is struggling with a pandemic, and yet we manage to continue the football game in this extreme situation. Of course, we are talking to UEFA as well as our footballers' clubs.
We cannot order anything to anyone and I can see these voices if it turns out that we will go to London without Robert, that the Polish Football Association has poor diplomacy. This is how it works.
Interia is also reporting that another star player, Marseille’s Arkadiusz Milik, is unlikely to feature as France will only allow players to skip quarantine on their return to the country if they have travelled to another nation in the European Union.
However, there has been precedent for exceptions in the case of France, whose national rugby union team has travelled to the UK to play in Six Nations matches recently.
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