Inter Milan midfielder Piotr Zielinski has sparked concern after revealing he requested a substitution due to a heel problem during Poland’s 3-2 Nations League victory over Scotland at Hampden Park. The match, which featured several Serie A players, saw goals from Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay, and a decisive penalty from Nicola Zalewski in stoppage time.
Speaking to Polish media after the game (via Calciomercato), Zielinski explained his early exit: “I had a small issue with my heel and asked for a substitution. When I noticed something was happening, I told the coach, ‘Change me in five minutes.’ Now it seems everything is fine.”
Despite the injury scare, Zielinski was upbeat about the team’s performance and the significance of the win: “Every victory with the national team has a special flavor, but this match should have been different. We just needed to start the second half differently, score the third goal quickly, and everything would have gone better. But we had to fight until the end, and the most important thing is that we managed to win.”
The Inter midfielder also discussed his new role in the team, revealing it was a planned tactical shift: “I knew for some time that something like this could happen. Assistant coach Sebastian Mila came to Milan and asked if I would be ready in case this need arose. I replied that there were no problems.”
Zielinski expressed enthusiasm about the team’s creative midfield lineup: “We have many guys with flair and imagination in midfield. Today our second line was light and technical, which is great. I’ve never played in such a technical formation for the national team. Sometimes we’ve played with Szymanski or Urbanski, but today our midfield was the most imaginative, technically the best, and the lightest. I smile when I talk about it because it’s fun to play with such technical teammates.”
