Poland names 16-man squad for World Cup qualifiers against Croatia and Germany

Squad named for the November window

Coach Igor Milicić has named 16 players for Poland's November training camp and its two qualifiers. The group includes Jerrick Harding, a naturalized guard aged 28 who plays for Turk Telekom Ankara and returns to the national team after a year away. Harding takes the place of Jordan Loyd (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), who played in the June and August windows. Captain Mateusz Ponitka and 37-year-old playmaker Kamil Łączyński are included, as is Igor Milicić junior, who plays for the Westchester Knicks, the New York Knicks' G League affiliate. Seven of the 16 players come from the PGE Basket Liga.

Two decisive games in Gliwice and Frankfurt

Poland host Croatia on 27 November at the PreZero Arena in Gliwice and then face Germany on 30 November in Frankfurt am Main. Both are direct meetings with teams near the top of Group K, where the three best sides advance to the World Cup in Qatar. Poland have a 7-1 record, level on wins with Germany and Croatia, and sit three wins ahead of Latvia, the only other side in the group still in contention. Poland are chasing a third World Cup appearance. They finished fifth in Uruguay in 1967 and eighth in China in 2019.

Coach's view and recent form

Milicić spoke in remarks published on the PZKosz website, and his tone was measured. He said the work done at the camp and the preparation for the first game would matter more than the current standing.

“We are in a good position, but we have not won anything yet.”

Poland's previous window ended with one win and one defeat. In August they beat Israel 85:70 in Riga, then lost 94:96 after overtime to Germany at the Ergo Arena. Those results cost Israel and the Netherlands their chances of reaching the World Cup. Harding's debut in the first-phase games, with 32 points against Austria and 17 against the Netherlands, shows what he can offer the backcourt.

Debutant, returning players and absentees

Krzysztof Kempa, a 21-year-old from Dziki Warszawa, is the only potential debutant. He was named MVP of the fifth round of the Polish ekstraklasa after Dziki beat Legia 92:77 in the capital derby, where he recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Two King Szczecin players, Przemysław Żołnierewicz and Mikołaj Witliński, also received call-ups. Jeremy Sochan will miss the window again. The Portland Trail Blazers released him, and he made his G League debut for the Texas Legends with 24 points. Other players named are Aleksander Balcerowski, Jakub Garbacz, Grzegorz Kamiński, Łukasz Kolenda, Dominik Olejniczak, Andrzej Pluta, Michał Sokołowski, Jakub Urbaniak and Szymon Zapała.