German strikers are Poles apart

If Poland were in need of extra motivation ahead of their clash with World Cup hosts, neighbours, and one-time oppressors Germany, it can be found in the fact that two of their own will spearhead the opposition attack.

The Poles need a big result tomorrow.  Their 2-0 defeat to Ecuador in their opener shocked most observers and was by-product of over-confidence, as the squad acknowledged in the aftermath.

There will be no room for cockiness in Dortmund, just a strategy and execution of that strategy.

Part of it will be to keep a lively German strikeforce quiet.  The double act of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose is a formidable one, the latter having scored two in the opening game as the hosts beat Costa Rica 4-2. Had things been different though, the pair could have been helping the Poles past Ecuador.

Both were born in Poland and both left for Gemany at a young age.  It seems of little significance to Klose, however, who claims to have only ever wanted to play for his adopted country.

"I was approached after playing a game for Kaiserslautern and asked if I could imagine playing for Poland," said Klose. "But I knew I would one day get a chance to play for Germany and that was always my motivation."

Klose was born in 1978, in a town called Opole. He remained there until he was eight and then made the move across the border with his family.

The stringy youngster quickly integrated into the new culture thanks largely to his skills as a player and he will sing the only anthem he knows at 8pm tomorrow.

"My aunt and uncle still live in Poland and I go there regularly...but I'll just be singing the German national anthem on Wednesday. I don't even know the other one."

A rallying call if there ever was one for the thousands of Poles expected in Dortmund tomorrow.  Their proximity to the tournament and the refusal of Polish television to fork out for the rights to the airing of the games, means that they will be a large and vocal minority.

One that the German strikeforce will be all too aware of.