Poland has high hopes

Having missed out on qualification for this year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa, it has not played a competitive match since October 2009.

It will not do so until it kicks off in the opening match of the European championship in Warsaw's brand new national stadium in June 2012.

Francisek Smuda, brought on board in a shake up after the flunked World Cup campaign, has been under mounting pressure after appalling performances including a 6-0 thrashing by Spain in June and a 3-0 defeat by Cameroon last month.

The stress levels will have dipped a little, however, in the wake of a match against fellow Euro 2012 host Ukraine which saw the Poles finally break a six-month goal drought.

But defensive bungling allowed Ukraine to snatch a stoppage-time goal to level 1-1.

"If you concede a goal in the final seconds, there's something wrong," said Smuda after the match. "And it feels like you've lost the match.

"Based on the rest of the game, we deserved to win. If we'd won 3-0, 4-0 or 4-1, everybody would be saying this was a fantastic team. But we've still got to work on key elements."

Poland fans have high hopes for Euro 2012, seeing it as a chance to revive the glory days of Polish football.

Poland won Olympic gold in 1972, came third in the 1974 World Cup, took Olympic silver in 1976, and was again third in the 1982 World Cup.

It also took Olympic silver in 1992 in Barcelona, beating Australia 6-1 in the semi-finals, its first-ever meeting with the Socceroos.

The game in the southern city of Krakow will be only its second encounter.

Australia, meanwhile, aims to polish up an image tarnished by a disappointing World Cup, under new coach Holger Osieck, a German veteran who was appointed coach last month.

The Poland game will be Osieck's second at the helm, after Australia drew Switzerland 0-0 in a friendly.

He was not yet in the job when the Socceroos played their first post-World Cup match last month, losing 2-0 to Slovenia.

Despite the stalemate score, the Swiss dominated the game, breaking down the Australian defence and forcing keeper Mark Schwarzer to make a handful of last-ditch saves.

The Socceroos have been plagued by injury, with forward Harry Kewell heading a list of players missing the away games.

Australia is building towards January's Asian Cup in Qatar, where it will be among the favourites.