Poland’s World Cup preparations have hit another set-back after they lost Tuesady’s international friendly match against Lithuania 1-0.

Slack defending and an insipid second-half performance from the Poles resulted in an under-strength Poland side losing their second match in three World Cup warm-up games.

The performance from the World Cup hopefuls left Poland head coach Pawel Janus concerned about the fitness of his squad, saying he might have to rethink his options before naming his final 23-man squad on May 15.

“I had in my notebook a group of players but a number are simply out of form,” he told a news conference. “In the form we saw today, we have no chance of getting out of the group at the finals.”

In March the Poles beat fellow World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia 2-1, but were unlucky losers 1-0 to the United States in Kaiserslautern.

Deprived of much of his first choice squad on Tuesday, Janas’ makeshift back four were caught napping by a quick throw-in after 14 minutes, flicked on for midfielder Andrius Gedgaudas to volley home unchallenged from eight metres.

The Poles dominated for the rest of the first half and went close with drives from Trabzonspor midfielder Miroslaw Szymkowiak and Sebastian Mila.

But the Lithuanians should have doubled their lead when Irmandas Zelmikas found himself unmarked in the box after 40 minutes only to put his header just over former Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek’s bar.

The Champions League winning goalkeeper also came to the rescue for the Poles after Lithuania’s forwards consistently broke the ineffective Polish offside trap with ease in the first half.

Three changes at halftime gave the Poles gave the Poles more control of the game, but failed to create any clear cut openings, even with their front pairing of Southampton’s Gregorz Rasiak and Wolves’ Tomasz Frankowski.

“This confirmed my worst fears,” Janas said in an on-pitch interview after the game. “We can see that the majority are out of form and after this game I’m just left with headaches.”

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