Ariel Pietrasik, who is currently scoring like a machine in the Swiss league, decided to represent Poland instead of Luxemburg. He was allowed to pick one of the two, given his double nationality.  

Polish handball players started competing in the qualifying round of the European Championships on Thursday, 13 October. They defeated Italy with Pietrasik in the squad by 30:23.  

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Despite having grown up in Luxemburg, Pietrasik always dreamed about playing for the Polish national team.

“My dad persuaded me to play handball. He played for Anilan for a long time. In turn, my mum played for the Polish national football team,” – he told Interia. 

The upcoming qualifying match of the White and Reds qualifying will take place on Sunday, 16 October against the Latvians, against whom we will be the favourites, although the game will be played in Valmiera (Latvia).  

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“It will definitely be harder than against Italy. Latvians have slightly better players, but we are going there to score two points – Ariel Pietrasik confidently told Interia. 

The European Championships will take place in Germany from the 12th until the 29th of January. 

Image: Instagram (arielpietrasik)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen