Poland names 18-man basketball squad for final World Cup qualifiers, Harding in and Loyd out
Naturalised guard Jerrick Harding headlines the 18‑player Polish squad for the upcoming World Cup qualification games against Austria and Netherlands, while Jordan Loyd and Igor Milicic jr miss out.
Roster announcement
The Polish Basketball Federation (PZKosz) has revealed an 18‑player squad for the final two matches of the first round of 2027 World Cup qualification. Naturalised American Jerrick Harding, captain Mateusz Ponitka and 20‑year‑old Jakub Szumert, who has enjoyed an excellent domestic season, are among those called up. Błażej Kulikowski and Jakub Urbaniak, both of Śląsk Wrocław, also feature.
- Harding vs Austria
- 32 points
- Harding vs Netherlands
- 17 points
- Loyd vs Latvia (away)
- 37 points
- Loyd vs Latvia (home)
- 21 points
Key absences
Jordan Loyd, the naturalised American who debuted for Poland at Eurobasket 2025 and was the leading scorer in the February–March window against Latvia, is not included. Igor Milicic jr, who has yet to appear in a World Cup qualifier, also misses out. Both were part of the squad during the last international break.
The campaign so far
Poland top Group F with four wins from four matches: a 90‑78 home victory over Austria, an 85‑83 away success against the Netherlands, and two wins against Latvia – 84‑82 on the road and 92‑72 in Gdynia. That perfect record has already guaranteed a place in the second qualification phase. Harding scored 32 points against Austria and 17 against the Netherlands in his November debut, while Loyd registered 37 and 21 points in the two Latvia meetings.
What’s next
The team will gather for a training camp in Kraków on 21 June. However, some players may be unavailable on that date because Game 7 of the Polish championship finals – a series that began with Zastal Zielona Góra’s 77‑74 upset of defending champions Legia Warsaw – could fall on the same day.
- Training camp opens in Kraków
- Qualifier at Austria in Vienna
- Qualifier vs Netherlands in Kraków
Poland will face Austria in Vienna on 3 July and host the Netherlands at Tauron Arena Kraków three days later. These are the concluding fixtures of the first qualification phase. In the second phase, which runs from August 2026 to March 2027 and carries over first‑phase results, Poland will join the top three teams from Group E – already confirmed as Germany, Croatia and Israel – in a new four‑nation pool from which the top three will advance to the 2027 World Cup in Qatar (27 August – 12 September 2027). Poland is seeking a third World Cup appearance after finishing fifth in 1967 and eighth in 2019.
