Aston Villa's Matty Cash accused of hindering Poland as media blast display vs Sweden
Aston Villa star Matty Cash had a night to forget as Poland lost 3-1 to Sweden.
Benjamin Nygren, Yasin Ajari and Viktor Gyokeres' goals were enough to seal victory for the Swedes.
Sebastian Szymanski scored a consolation for the Poles, but they were outclassed in the UEFA Nations League B group contest.
The Villans ace featured for 76 minutes, but he could not have the required impact at either end of the right flank.
Cash has won 27 caps for his country, but this was one of his worse displays on the international stage.
The national media's reaction was telling, as they clearly did not rate his showing.
What did the Polish media say about Matty Cash's display away from Aston Villa
Cash is usually a reliable performer for his nation, but it was not the case at the Strawberry Arena.
Polskie Radio 24 handed him a three out of 10 rating, saying: “Less visible than Puchacz on the other side, but that wasn’t necessarily a downside. He almost had a lucky shot in the first half.
"It seems he could have made better decisions on several occasions, instead of searching for space on the wing. On two counterattacks, he dropped inside and hindered the team’s attacks. The Swedish defenders easily anticipated his movements.”
Pilka Nozna gave him a 2.5 out of five rating, saying: “An average performance. Defensively, he made no major mistakes. He tried several times to create something in the opposition penalty area, but his crosses were blocked.”
Goal.pl also handed Cash a 2.5 out of five, saying: The Aston Villa player was undoubtedly active, throughout his 76-minute performance, he sought out crosses and attempted long balls. However, much more was expected of Cash.
"The Polish international was unable to sufficiently influence the team’s attack, and his activity failed to translate into concrete chances. Given the team’s overall performance, it’s difficult to rate his performance positively.”
Meczyki were more generous with a five out of 10, saying: “Once again, his attacks almost succeeded, but unfortunately for us, we were left to speculate. Cash tried his luck from distance and also sent in a cross, which Zukowski successfully played to Zielinski. Besides, his side looked tighter than Puchacz’s.”
The media have had their say and they were not happy, and Cash can have no complaints on that assessment after looking at the data.
What do the stats say about Cash's latest international showing?
Cash was not his usually dangerous self going forward, as he failed to create a single chance in the contest but did manage three passes into the final third, per FotMob data.
The Villans defender also had four shots, but could get one of them to go on target in the contest and test Viktor Johansson.
He only attempted two crosses, completing one, for a 50 per cent success rate.
The Unai Emery favourite made just three defensive contributions, with two tackles and one clearance.
In terms of duels, he won two of three on the ground, for a 67 per cent success rate.
It was a performance that will leave question marks for Emery, when Cash returns from the international break, unless he steps up his level in the final two matches against Romania and Bosnia.
If he can't bounce back, it may give Aaron Wan-Bissaka an opportunity to make the right-back role at Villa Park his own.