THE man who stopped England with his actions now wants to lay claim to being the man who stopped Scotland with his words.

What happens to his native Poland against Germany before that seems to be of very little interest to Jan Tomaszewski.

Warsaw's National Stadium is sure to be a crackling ball of electricity and expectancy tonight when a sell-out crowd of more than 50,000 gathers to welcome the world champions.

Joachim Loew, the visiting head coach, has a frightening list of injuries to overcome and, with a number of his heroes from Brazil having retired, there is a growing belief in Poland's capital that a first-ever win over the Germans might just be a possibility.

Robert Lewandowski, the Bayern Munich striker and Poland captain, stated earlier this week there was no way his side would contemplate "parking the bus" after scoring seven goals against Gibraltar last month but he woke up to a stern rebuke from a famous figure yesterday morning.

Tomaszewski, branded "a clown" by Brian Clough before famously earning his country a goalless draw at Wembley and ensuring England would miss out on the 1974 World Cup, made a typically controversial appearance in the prominent daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, arguing this evening's match does not matter in the slightest.

All eyes, the former goalkeeper argues, must be fixed firmly on Tuesday's home showdown with Scotland. That will be far more important than Germany's visit and vital energy - energy that could be used to blow a hole in Gordon Strachan's hopes of making it to Euro 2016 - must not be expended in vain, he says.

Tomaszewski, now a member of the Polish parliament, seems pretty much out of step with the rest of his nation ahead of what has the potential to be a gripping encounter but he is unrepentant.

Poland need to play the long game, he insists. Their national coach, Adam Nawalka, has to set out his stall for a goalless draw and be prepared to accept defeat in the knowledge it will keep his best men fresh for an all-out assault on the Scots. There is, he says, no other way.

"We must get rid of romanticism and start thinking consciously," the 63-year-old says. "Would 0-0 be a good result for us? It would be excellent, so let us defend that from beginning to end. I don't want to see us left exhausted physically and mentally for the Scotland game.

"I appeal to Nawalki and to Lewandowski, the other Polish players and the fans. Germany are not our enemy in qualifying for Euro 2016. They will win the group.

"I pray Loew's team win all their matches and do not give any points to the Scots or the Irish. Of course I will be happy if they gave some to Poland but the more important of these two games for us is the one against the Scots.

"If you offered me a 3-0 win over Germany and a 3-0 loss to Scotland or vice-versa, I would prefer the latter 100 times over. If you are to qualify, you need to win against those closest to you. If we lose to Germany, the world won't collapse. If we lose to the Scots, it might."

Another goalkeeping figure familiar to football enthusiasts in this country, however, does not seem to share Tomaszewski's somewhat out-of-kilter opinion.

Artur Boruc, who is waiting to see whether he will be given the nod over Wojciech Szczesny of Arsenal for tonight's match, feels this Poland squad possess greater talent than any he has previously been part of and believes it would be wrong not to give everything in search of what would be a historic victory.

"First, let's play the Germans and then we can think about the Scots," said the former Celtic player, now with Bournemouth. "We need to take it step-by-step. I have had quite a few defeats against Germany and I would like us to win finally.

"It does not matter in what style we do that. The idea is to score one goal more. Despite the changes in the German team, we will have to fight against a very strong rival. We will play the way Germany allow because they are still big favourites.

"However, it seems to me we have the potential within our team to cope with such a strong opponent. We have players from strong clubs who perform regularly in European competition. It is high time we translated this into results."

Poland and Germany last met only in May, drawing 0-0 in a friendly in Hamburg. Thiago Cionek, a Brazilian-born defender of Polish descent who is currently earning a crust with Modena in Italy, made his international debut in that match and claims no comparisons can be drawn between its relatively dull fare and the high-octane Group D encounter expected tonight.

He fears the Germans and has every right to. He spent his summer holidays back in his home city of Curitiba and, with his family and friends, sat through every second of Brazil's 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Loew's team in the World Cup semi-finals. "We will put in a lot of effort but we have to do it wisely," Cionek said. "You have to have a plan for them, because if not you could experience what Brazil did in Belo Horizonte.

"During the World Cup I went to Brazil and their the match against Germany. We sat down in front of a TV with family and neighbours with every faith we would see a victory for Brazil and then I just remember a black hole.

"It was a footballing oddity, the most terrible date in the history of Brazilian football. This is no revenge for me, though. Let revenge be taken when the Germans and Brazilians play."

Tomaszewski, naturally, demands the final word and it is the national coach, Nawalki in his sights.

"If Poland have seven points after the autumn matches with Gibraltar, Germany, Scotland and Georgia, Adam will have the right to work on," he said. "If less, the only honourable way to go is dismissal."