Poles take giant leap towards finals

(CNN) -- Poland are scheduled to host the European Championships jointly with Ukraine in 2012 but, barring a disaster, the eastern European nation should be making their debut in the final stages of the competition next year in Austria and Switzerland.

Leo Beenhakker's players could be forgiven for blocking out the dates of next summer's tournament in their diaries after surviving away visits unscathed this week to both Portugal and Finland -- their two closest rivals -- to maintain their two-point gap at the top of Group A.

Poland undoubtedly rode their luck in Lisbon on Saturday, escaping with a 2-2 draw only after Jacek Kryznowek's speculative effort in the dying minutes had ricocheted into the net off unfortunate Portuguese keeper Ricard after striking a post.

Although Poland had gone ahead in the first half through Mariusz Lewandowski, the match had mostly been one-traffic until Kryznowek's late intervention.

"I can't say we've had the perfect match because some of my boys did not handle the pressure well, but of course you must think positively when you get a draw in such emotional circumstances," said Beenhakker afterwards.

The veteran Dutchman must have been more satisfied with the professional way in which his side shut down Finland to claim a 0-0 draw in Helsinki on Wednesday.

In a team largely devoid of star quality and mostly drawn from the Polish domestic league, much of the credit for the current campaign rests firmly with the coach.

A 40-year managerial career has taken Beenhakker all over the world, including spells with Real Madrid, Ajax and the Dutch national team.

But a CV that also includes tenures at club sides such as Istanbulspor of Turkey and America and Guadalajara of Mexico as well as taking Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 World Cup and Saudi Arabia to the last 16 in 1994 suggests a coach at his best when he is getting the best out of ordinary players.

With home matches against Kazakhstan and Belgium and an away trip to Serbia to come, the Poles still have plenty of work to do to secure a place among the 16 finalists.

Nor can they take anything for granted after a campaign that has included a home loss to the Finns and a shock 1-0 away defeat to minnows Armenia.

But after qualifying for the last two World Cups (albeit flopping badly at the finals themselves), the Poles ought to have the experience and aptitude to see themselves through. E-mail to a friend