Key Poland defender Kamil Glik was left on the bench for their opening World Cup Group H match against Senegal on Tuesday while Wojciech Szczesny was picked in goal ahead of Lukasz Fabianski.
Glik had been battling to recover in time from an injury he suffered when attempting an overhead kick in training two weeks ago.
Poland has rotated between Szczesny and Fabianksi during qualifying and it was the Juventus player who got the nod for the match at the Spartak stadium.
Senegal, aiming to become the first African side to pick up a point at the tournament, left their usual captain Cheikhou Kouyate on the bench, handing the armband instead to forward Sadio Mane.