Jan Bednarek is the only player at Euro 2024 that is currently contracted to Southampton next season.
With Scotland duo Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams both out of contract this summer, Southampton fans may keep a keen eye on how Jan Bednarek‘s Poland get on at this summer’s European Championships.
The 27-year-old was a key member of Russell Martin‘s side last season , ensuring he was selected in Poland’s squad for this summer.
On Sunday, Bednarek started as part of the back three selected to face Netherlands for Poland’s first game of the tournament, with their talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski absent through injury.
It was a bright start for Bednarek and co. as they went ahead through a 16th-minute Adam Buksa header from a corner, but they went in level at half-time as former Southampton transfer target Cody Gakpo scored via a deflected effort on 29 minutes.
It was late heartbreak for Poland as Wout Weghorst swept home off the bench to ensure Netherlands took all three points with a 2-1 win and the Polish media reacted to Bednarek’s performance post-game.
Jan Bednarek rated 5/10 by Polish media in Netherlands defeat
The Euros opener was Bednarek’s 58th international cap and he put in a decent defensive display despite Poland ultimately succumbing to defeat.
Poland have a tough task to get out of a group that also includes Austria and France but they will be hoping Lewandowski can return to help them in their next two clashes.
Whilst Bednarek was generally solid, Polish media outlet Przeglad Sportowy were harsh in their assessment of the Southampton centre-back’s performance as they scored him a five out of ten.
This was the joint second lowest ranking they issued, with Sebastian Szymanski ranked as low as a three.
However, the words that accompanied Bednarek’s rating were a little less negative, as they described his performance as follows: ‘A relatively good performance by the Southampton defender, a cautious but relatively confident performance, without any major mishaps.
He kept up with the action, overtook, protected and helped. He interrupted his opponents’ action several times.’
Can Bednarek’s Poland get out of their Euros group?
The change in format of this summer’s Euros means more teams have a chance of qualifying from their group than in tournaments gone by.
That is because UEFA have added an extra round, meaning that four of the eight third-placed teams in the group will qualify for the round of 16.
This will be decided based on the points tallies of the sides in third, but effectively means that one win is likely to see any side qualify for the knockouts.
Bednarek will have his work cut out in Poland’s final group game, as he has the unenviable task of keeping none other than Kylian Mbappe at bay.
The Poles will no doubt be eyeing up their next game against Austria as the best chance they have of securing a much-needed win and prolonging their own campaign, with the two sides looking fairly well matched on paper.
With Scotland’s 5-1 thumping in the tournament opener against hosts Germany, Southampton could be relying on Bednarek to maintain a club interest in the tournament.
