‘Polish Mourinho’

Poland manager Czeslaw Michniewicz has been getting World Cup advice from Jose Mourinho, Max Allegri, Steven Gerrard and Xavi on how to beat the French, writes SunSport’s Mark Irwin.

Michniewicz has been revelling in his ‘Polish Mourinho’ nickname after pulling off a defensive master class to steer his nation through to the last 16 in Qatar.

He said: “When I hear all the criticism, I can only smile. Because all the teams who were not defensive and let their opponents score easily in the group stage are already back at home and watching on TV.

“We were good at defending and our reward is a game against the world champions. If we can win against France, we could become the next champions.

“The comparisons with Mourinho are out of date but I will just tell you that football is all about winning trophies and being successful.

“I have spoken with Mourinho, Allegri, Xavi, Steven Gerrard, Fabio Cannavaro and all the other coaches who have helped to prepare my players so well for this tournament.

“And I hope this is not my last chance to thank them from the bottom of my heart. We always dreamed of leaving the group phase and we don’t care about any opinions of our team.

“The fourth of December in Poland is Barborka, the miner’s national holiday, and we will do our best to celebrate the day with victory against a wonderful opponent”