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Soccer

Hopefully we won't be crying over spilt Milik

When you think of the Polish national team's players in recent years, a few names tend to jump ou...



Hopefully we won't be cryi...
Soccer

Hopefully we won't be crying over spilt Milik

When you think of the Polish national team's players in recent years, a few names tend to jump out.

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is the star of the show and will captain his country against Ireland this Sunday.

The former skipper Kuba BÅ‚aszczykowski is conspicuous by his absence however, with reports doing the rounds that he has fallen out with his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Lewandowski.

And then there are Arsenal's out-of-favour goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Dortmund full-back Lukasz Piszczek who has been out of action for a the past six weeks with an ankle injury.

While many recognisable names are left on the wayside, there is another name that Ireland need to keep a wary eye on this weekend.

That name is Arkadiusz Milik, a striker currently plying his trade at Ajax, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 21-year-old made his national team debut in 2012, after Poland's disappointing Euro 2012 campaign on home soil, and his record since has been pretty good.

Six goals have followed in 14 games, to add to his record of nine goals in eight with the U21s.

However, the goal that made many people sit up and take notice was the opener in Poland's surprising 2-0 win over Germany in the qualifiers:

Milik, who stands at over 6 foot, also bagged the vital equaliser in the 2-2 draw at home to group rivals Scotland and also found the net against Georgia.

It's not just his national team for which he has been impressive. After a slow start to his Ajax spell, the young Pole has 23 goals across all competitions this season, including 11 in the Dutch league.

Given the opposition was a lower league club JOS Watergraafsmeer in the Dutch Cup, six goals in one game might be a red herring, but that being said it is still an impressive feat.

Certainly, Martin O'Neill and his scouts will be wily enough to have identified Milik as arguably as big a threat as Lewandowski at the Aviva.

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