In the current Southampton squad, 28-year-old centre-back Jan Bednarek is among the most experienced players having made over two hundred appearances for the Saints. Signed from Lech Poznan in 2017, the Poland international has become an integral part of the Southampton defence over the years and is the defensive leader in Russell Martin’s side. Even last season, Bednarek decided to stay at the St. Mary’s Stadium after relegation and led by example with his consistent rock-solid defending throughout the Championship campaign to guide the Saints back to the Premier League after one year.
This season, Bednarek has mostly been a decent performer in the Premier League, apart from a few occasional defensive mistakes. The recent 3-1 defeat against Arsenal was again a very similar performance, with Bednarek giving a heroic defensive display in the first half but making a collective mistake on the first goal leaving Kai Havertz unmarked inside the box. In recent months, Bednarek has also made a few defensive errors for the Poland national team as well, with the central defender giving away possession in his own half against Croatia in the Nations League.
Southampton player heavily criticised after making error for national team
Recently, Bednarek made another huge mistake for Poland in an important UEFA Nations League group stage match. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal took a comfortable 2-0 lead before half-time and were the heavy favourites to take their third group stage win in as many games. However, Inter Milan midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored one goal for Poland and with around fifteen minutes remaining, they created several chances to level the match at 2-2. However, Bednarek made a big error on the third goal as Diogo Jota’s attempt on goal took a huge deflection from the Southampton defender and found the back of the net.
This reduced Poland’s chances of taking an important draw from this match and Polish outlet Wezlo criticised Bednarek for his mistimed block, saying,
“Another match against a strong team and Bednarek was lost in the action. For the first goal, a compromising attitude. And finally he put the ball into his own goal in the last minutes of the match.”
                                       – Jan Bednarek
This match wasn’t a great game from centre-back, who would want to put in a much improved performance in the upcoming Croatia match. This match is a must win game for Poland to qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals next year, who are currently third in their group after league leaders Portugal and second placed Croatia. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether Bednarek returns to his best form against Croatia as it will also be key for Russell Martin’s side, who have conceded fifteen goals in the Premier League this season.
