The clash between Polonia Warszawa, the second-place team in the 1. liga (Poland’s second tier), and Raków Częstochowa is the most intriguing pairing in the round of 16 of the Polish Cup. In Friday’s draw, only four of the ekstraklasa (the top flight) teams still in the competition drew opponents from lower divisions.

For the first time in the history of the Polish Cup, only four top-flight clubs will play in this round.

In the first round, Legia Warszawa, the most decorated team with 21 titles, Pogoń Szczecin, Widzew Łódź, KGHM Zagłębie Lubin and all of the Kraków teams — Wisła, Wieczysta and Cracovia — were eliminated.

In the next round, GKS Katowice, Motor Lublin, Piast Gliwice, Korona Kielce, Radomiak Radom and Śląsk Wrocław went out, along with — the biggest surprise — Polish champion and ekstraklasa leader Lech Poznań, which lost 1-0 to Siarka Tarnobrzeg of the third league (the fourth level).

Coach Sławomir Majak’s surprise team has now drawn Stal Rzeszów of the 1. liga.

Besides Siarka, the other third-league team is Polonia Środa Wielkopolska, which will face second-league side Sokół Kleczew.

The most intriguing matchup is Warsaw’s Polonia against Raków, last year’s finalist and the winner in 2021-22. The “Czarne Koszule” (“Black Shirts”) eliminated Korona Kielce, a team with a strong squad, in the round of 32, winning 2-1 on Thursday after a good performance. The Częstochowa team, whose manager Dawid Szwarga is already its fourth coach this season, beat Motor Lublin away on penalty kicks.

“Through our determination and commitment, we showed that this team has character and is developing. Anyone who wasn’t at the match should regret it,” Polonia coach Piotr Stokowiec said after the win over Korona.

The 54-year-old coach has had success in the Polish Cup before. As coach of Lechia Gdańsk, he won the trophy in 2019 and reached the final the following season.

Górnik Zabrze, the defending cup champion and Poland’s league runner-up, will travel to second-league Avia Świdnik, which reached the quarterfinals last season while still in the third league.

Jagiellonia Białystok, meanwhile, will play in Nieciecza against Bruk-Bet Termalica of the 1. liga. Last season, the “Słoniki” (Little Elephants) were still in the ekstraklasa and beat the team coached by Adrian Siemieniec twice, including 4-0 away.

Under the rules, the home team is always the club from the lower division, and when teams are from the same league, the one drawn first hosts.

PZPN (Polish Football Association) Secretary General Łukasz Wachowski and former national team player Jakub Wawrzyniak took part in the draw ceremony at the TVP headquarters.

The round-of-16 matches will be played Dec. 1-3. The final will be held, as is traditional, on May 2 at PGE Narodowy.

This season, winning the Polish Cup carries extra value. Because of Poland’s high position in the UEFA rankings, the winner will enter the fourth, and last, qualifying round of the Europa League. That guarantees a long fall in European competition, because a loss in the Europa League would send the team to the league phase (the main stage) of the Conference League.

Round of 16 pairings in the STS Polish Cup (Dec. 1-3):

Polonia Środa Wielkopolska (3. liga) - Sokół Kleczew (2. liga) 
Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza (1. liga) - Jagiellonia Białystok (ekstraklasa)
Siarka Tarnobrzeg (3. liga) - Stal Rzeszów (1. liga) 
Polonia Warszawa (1. liga) - Raków Częstochowa (ekstraklasa)
Avia Świdnik (2. liga) - Górnik Zabrze (ekstraklasa)
GKS Tychy (2. liga) - Chrobry Głogów (1. liga)
Górnik Łęczna (2. liga) - Wisła Płock (ekstraklasa)
Odra Opole (1. liga) - Ruch Chorzów (1. liga)

Dates of the later rounds:

 Quarterfinals - March 2-4, 2027
 Semifinals - April 6-7
 Final - May 2

Source: PAP

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