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Poland national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Poland women's national football team.

Poland
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Biało-czerwoni
("The white and reds")
Białe Orły
("The White Eagles")
AssociationPolish Football Association
(Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachWaldemar Fornalik
CaptainJakub Błaszczykowski
Most capsMichał Żewłakow (102)
Top scorerWłodzimierz Lubański (48)
Home stadiumNational Stadium, Warsaw
FIFA codePOL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current63
Highest16 (September 2007)
Lowest75 (March 2012)
First international
 Hungary 1–0 Poland 
(Budapest, Hungary; 18 December 1921)
Biggest win
 Poland 10–0 San Marino 
(Kielce, Poland; 1 April 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 8–0 Poland 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 26 June 1948)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1938)
Best result3rd place (1974, 1982)
European Championship
Appearances2 (first in 2008)
Best resultRound 1, 2008 and 2012
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich Team
Silver medal – second place 1976 Montreal Team
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona Team

The Poland national football team (Template:Lang-pl) represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland. Poland's home ground is National Stadium in Warsaw and their current head coach is Waldemar Fornalik.

The most renowned Polish team was the one of the mid-1970s that held England to a draw at Wembley to qualify for the World Cup in 1974. They defeated Brazil 1–0 to claim third place in the tournament, with striker Grzegorz Lato winning the Golden Boot for his seven goals. Poland also finished 3rd in the 1982 beating France 3–2 in the third-place play-off.

Poland also won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich; the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal; and a silver medal in 1992 in Barcelona. Their Olympic success was helped by a wholly amateur squad, similar to other nations behind the Iron Curtain.

Poland first qualified for the European Football Championships in 2008. They also qualified automatically for the 2012 European Football Championship by virtue of being joint hosts with Ukraine. They finished bottom of their group on both occasions.

History

1919–1939: Early years

The Polish Football Federation (Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej) was established on December 20, 1919 in Warsaw, Poland. Poland would play their first official international match on December 18, 1921 in Budapest where they lost to Hungary 1–0. Their first international win would come on May 28, 1922 where they took on Sweden in Stockholm and beat them 2–1. Poland qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1937 when they beat Yugoslavia 4–0, and 1–0 in the two qualifying matches and ensured their place in the 1938 World Cup in France.

During their debut in the World Cup Poland would face off against Brazil which would become one of the most memorable matches in the history of the World Cup. Even though Brazil was not regarded as the world’s top team in the 1930s, it was still believed to be a very good, hard-to-beat side. Under these circumstances, the Polish team, which had never before participated on such level, was expected to lose the game against the South Americans. Thus, the defeat was not a sensation. However, all fans were surprised at the style with which the Poles played their lone game of the tournament. The white and reds got to the extra time, only then losing 5–6. Ernest Wilimowski, who played for Ruch Chorzów at the time, scored four out of five goals for Poland, which to date is one of the most impressive individual performances in the history of the World Cup.

Poland played what would be their last international match before the outbreak of World War II against Hungary, the 1938 World Cup runners-up. The match stands out as an achievement as Poland defeated the strongly favored Hungarian side 4–2.

  • Poland National Team, 1924
    Poland National Team, 1924
  • Poland 5:6 Brazil, 1938
    Poland 5:6 Brazil, 1938

1946–1972

On June 11, 1946 following the aftermath of World War II, Poland played their first international friendly match against Norway in Oslo. The game ended with a defeat as Norway won by the score of 3–1. The biggest success in the early years after the war was the victory against one of Europe’s best at the time the Czechoslovakian team. Poland defeated their southern neighbors 3–1.

Poland suffered the worst defeat in the team's history on April 26, 1948 with a 0–8 loss to the Danish side. Poland would later erase that memory as they posted their second highest ever victory in Szczecin when they took down Norway 9–0 on September 4, 1963. The game marked the debut for Włodzimierz Lubański. He scored one of the goals in the game, which would eventually be one of many. Lubański became the all-time top scorer for Poland while playing from 1963 to 1980 scoring 48 goals in 75 appearances. This victory was surpassed on April 1, 2009 in Kielce when Poland defeated San Marino 10–0.

On December 1, 1970 Poland’s football history would change forever all due to one man. Kazimierz Górski was elected as the head coach of the team. His success with the team was evident from the start with a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Górski would later lead the team to another medal at the 1976 Olympics where they captured silver. However, nothing matched the two bronze medals at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.

1974 World Cup 3rd place

Grzegorz Lato (left)

Poland being mostly unknown on the international football scene before 1974 shook up the football world during the World Cup in Germany. However, this was no huge surprise as the core of the team successfully achieved a gold medal place in the Munich Olympics in 1972. The Olympics were not considered a major tournament by most Western nations, but Eastern European countries bypassed the amateur rules by fielding their full national teams, as most players also had employment with national industries or within the army. With their lightning speed and incredible team chemistry they were almost unstoppable. In qualifying they surprised everyone by eliminating England, quarter-finalists in 1970 and Champions in 1966.

Poland celebrating victory over Brazil 1974.

In their opening match of Germany 74 Poland met Argentina, a team that was appearing in their 6th World Cup. Within eight minutes Poland were up 2–0, Grzegorz Lato opened the scoring in the 7th minute and just a minute later Andrzej Szarmach doubled the lead. In the 60th minute Argentina cut the lead in half when Ramon Heredia scored. But two minutes later Lato got his second, which turned out to be the winning goal as Carlos Babington gave Argentina their second in the 66th. The match finished 3–2 for Poland.

Poland easily beat the Caribbean nation of Haiti 7–0 in their second game. The goals included a hat-trick from Szarmach and two from Lato. In their final match of the first stage Poland met Italy, who were 2nd at the previous World Cup in 1970. Poland were already through to the Second Round but needed at least a tie to win the group. At half-time Poland was leading 2–0 on goals from Andrzej Szarmach and Kazimierz Deyna. It was not until the 86th minute that Italy managed a consolation goal through Fabio Capello. This gave Poland their third consecutive win, which led them to win the group. In the second round Poland first won 1–0 against a Swedish side, which had not let in any goals in their first three matches. Lato scored the only goal of the game. Next was Yugoslavia who had drawn with Brazil and Scotland and won 9–0 against Zaire in the first round. Poland was awarded a penalty in the 24th minute and took the lead when Deyna converted. Stanislav Karasi tied it up for Yugoslavia in the 43rd. Lato won it for Poland again when he scored in the 62nd making the final score 2–1 in Poland’s favour.

On July 3, 1974 came the game that could have sent Poland into the 1974 FIFA World Cup. They played against the eventual champions West Germany. It had rained all day long, the field was entirely flooded. Poland wanted the game postponed but the Austrian referee would not agree. The game went ahead. Poland needed a win to be in the final, a draw was enough for the Germans. But in the miserably wet conditions Poland's speed was of no use since the ball would not roll like it does on a dry field. Gerd Müller scored the winning goal in the 76th minute for Germany. The whole country was crushed.

Poland would end the amazing run with a 1–0 victory over Brazil in the third place game. Lato scored the winning goal his 7th of the tournament crowning him the top scorer of the World Cup.

1978 World Cup

In qualifying, Poland denied Portugal their second World Cup appearance when in 1966 they had captured 3rd place. Poland opened the World Cup against their rivals from four years prior and the current Champions, West Germany. This time the match ended in a 0–0 draw.

Grzegorz Lato continued his scoring ways with the only goal in the 1–0 win over African side Tunisia in the second game. In the final first round match Poland met North American nation Mexico. Zbigniew Boniek playing in his first World Cup opened the scoring in the 43rd minute. The Mexicans drew level through Victor Rangel in the 52nd minute, but four minutes later Kazimierz Deyna put Poland ahead once again. Then Boniek scored his second in the 84th to secure the 3–1 win.

In the second round Poland met three South American teams. In 1974 Poland had played and won against both Argentina and Brazil, both teams would get their revenge this time around. First Argentina beat the Poles 2–0 with two goals from tournament top scorer Mario Kempes. Poland then defeated Peru 1–0 with a goal from Andrzej Szarmach. In what was Poland's last match of this World Cup Brazil opened the scoring in the 12th minute on a goal from Nelinho. Even though Lato equalized one minute before half-time it was not to be for Poland. Two goals from Roberto in the 57th and 62nd minute wrapped up the 3–1 win for Brazil.

1982 World Cup 3rd place

Zbigniew Boniek Top scorer for Poland in the 1982 World Cup.

The Okęcie Airport incident of 1980 unsettled the team, and caused four of its members to be temporarily banned by the PZPN, including Stanislaw Terlecki, who never played for Poland again.[1] The presence of Górski’s Eagles was slowly dissolving by 1982, and only Lato, Szarmach, Kusto and Żmuda remained from the ’74 squad. However, the white and reds were an exciting mix of veterans and upstart youngsters. This was soon to be Zibi’s team and the Cup time to shine. Poland was in fact a pre-tourney favorite to go far. World Cup España also featured a new format for the tournament, with both an expansion to the overall pool to twenty-four and of the second group round to twelve.

Poland won a spot in Group A, placing them with Italy, Cameroon and Peru. As often appears to be the case historically, Poland started slowly. On day two of the tournament, Poland opened with a respectable 0–0 draw against the Italians. Nevertheless, the defense played a great game holding Paolo Rossi scoreless, the only time the eventual champion Italians were to be shut out during the entire tournament. The Italy game was followed by an inexplicable 0–0 draw with Cameroon.

Everyone either awaited a Poland goal explosion or was ready to write the squad off as too dependent on their aging stars. The former came. A torrent of goals rained on Peru to close out Polish group play with a 5–1 onslaught. Five different Poles scored including Smolarek, Zibi and Lato, in what would be his final World Cup goal. Lato also had one assist and Zibi added two. Due to Italy’s first round results, which consisted of three draws, Poland won the group.

Then came one for the ages. In one of the most impressive one-man shows in Cup history, Zibi netted a hat trick against Belgium in the first game of Group 1 play, accounting for all three goals in the 3–0 victory. Zibi would be key in the following match as well against the Soviet Union, but not in positive fashion. In the midst of the tense scoreless draw, Zibi was yellow carded for the second time and thus had to sit and watch the following match. The Poles would eventually be stopped in the semi-finals. The opponent was once again Italy, winners of Group 3 and eliminators of Brazil. This would be no rematch of the first meeting, though, as the adaptable Italians were not to be stymied. Rossi ran the shagged-out Poland ragged, scoring in the 22nd and 72nd minute in a reportedly easy 2–0 win.

Poland saved some face in the third-place game, feeling freewheeling enough to beat France 3–2 in a game that featured about ten minutes of absolute dominance by the Poles surrounding the halftime break. This game along with the World Cup would be remembered as an end to the golden era of Polish football.

1986 World Cup

The 1986 World Cup in Mexico would mark Poland's last appearance on the World's greatest stage in the 20th century. Poland qualified to the tournament by finishing in first place over Belgium on goal differential and qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup.

Poland's opponents in Group F would be Morocco, Portugal, and England. During the first game the fans spotted that the magic of the earlier years was gone as they only managed a scoreless draw against a surprising Morocco team that would finish top of the group. In the second game hope was restored with an impressive 1–0 victory over Portugal in which Włodzimierz Smolarek got the winning goal. In the last match of the group stages Poland took on England. England won the match 3–0, with all three goals scored by Gary Lineker, however, Poland still managed to reach the knockout stages after Morocco surprised Portugal with a 3–1 victory.

Due to Poland finishing in third place in the group they were drawn against a strong Brazilian side in the knock-out stages. The Brazilians gave Poland no chance after defeating them 4–0, sending them home.

1987–2002

After the golden era in the 1970s and 1980s Poland would encounter a period of drought being unable to qualify for any major tournament. During the late 1980s to the late 1990s Poland’s biggest achievement would be capturing the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. There were high hopes for the young team who narrowly missed out on the gold medal (losing the final 3–2 to the hosts Spain after conceding a goal in injury time), and the two star strikers Wojciech Kowalczyk and Andrzej Juskowiak in particular, but ultimately this generation achieved nothing in international football.

2002 World Cup

Poland’s qualification to the 2002 World Cup marked their first appearance in the tournament since 1986. During the qualifications Poland finished top of their group and qualified for the World Cup in Korea and Japan as the first team out of Europe.

Although nobody expected Poland to repeat their feats of 1974 and 1982 most fans and the press did expect at least the second round. Both South Korea and the USA were viewed as teams easily within Poland's reach, particularly after the excellent qualifying campaign. Portugal was another matter but many did not dismiss the possibility of a draw. However, in the first game the South Koreans stunned Poland with a 2–0 win. The poor performance led to calls for wholesale changes to the team that was to face Portugal in the second game. In the end the manager Jerzy Engel only made one change and the Poles were duly hammered 4–0 and eliminated from the tournament. In the last game Engel fielded a completely overhauled team and Poland showed what could have been by completely outclassing the USA, but, in the light of two previous defeats, the 3–1 victory was too little, too late.

2006 World Cup

During the 2006 World Cup Poland came in with high hopes of qualifying out of the group stages for the first time since 1986 after a solid qualifying campaign. Being drawn to the group A, which consisted of the hosts Germany, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, Poland was looked upon as a favorite with Germany to progress through the knockout stages. However, just like four years earlier, the campaign was a massive disappointment. Again, Poland lost their first game, this time to Ecuador. The final score was 2–0 with goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado. Poland did have two major chances to score against Ecuador though; with first Ireneusz Jelen's and then Pawel Brozek's left foot strikes hitting the woodwork (crossbar and then post). Poland lost to group leader Germany on June 14, in an epic game, where goalkeeper Artur Boruc made numerous critical saves. The final score was 1–0 though, with a goal scored by Oliver Neuville in the 91st minute, thus ensuring their exit from the World Cup. In the last match Poland eliminated Costa Rica 2–1 with both Polish goals headed in by center back Bartosz Bosacki.

2008 European Championship

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A
Ebi Smolarek led Poland with 9 goals in qualifying.

Under the new manager Leo Beenhakker, who replaced Paweł Janas in 2006, Poland began its Euro 2008 qualifying campaign in a distinctly unimpressive fashion, losing 1–3 to Finland at Zawisza Stadium in Bydgoszcz. They followed that up with a 1–1 draw against Serbia at Legia Stadium in Warsaw on September 6, 2006. Their first win came against Kazakhstan on October 7, 2006 (final score 0:1). Just four points from three relatively easy games put the Poles on the brink of early elimination.

However, in the next five games Poland notched five straight victories. Poland faced Portugal on October 11, 2006, winning 2–1 in Chorzów, after an excellent performance. Next they headed to Brussels where they defeated Belgium 1:0. They recorded wins against Azerbaijan (5–0) and Armenia (1–0) at home in Poland, and away to Azerbaijan (1–3), however they failed to pick up any points in Armenia on June 6, 2007 (0–1).

Poland then traveled to Lisbon to face Portugal, the match ended in a 2–2 draw. They returned from Helsinki with another point (0–0). A power outage briefly marred the rematch against Kazakhstan but Poland collected three points (3–1). Poland clinched its Euro 2008 berth with a 2–0 victory against Belgium in Chorzów and followed that up with a draw (2–2) against Serbia in Belgrade. Poland finished its qualifying campaign as group leaders. Ebi Smolarek finished with 9 goals under his tally for Poland and was the third overall top scorer in the qualifications only behind David Healy of Northern Ireland (13 goals), and Eduardo of Croatia (10 goals).

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008

Poland’s qualification to the Euro 2008 marked their first appearance in the tournament. Despite qualifying for the tournament with an impressing campaign edging Portugal to the first place in their qualifying group the tournament would be a disappointing debut.

Poland was drawn in the group that consisted of Germany, the co-hosts Austria, and Croatia. In a rematch from the 2006 World Cup Poland took on Germany in the first game. Although the Poles were far from dominated in the game and created many chances, the match ended with a victory for Germany with the final score being 2–0. Lukas Podolski the Polish-born German striker scored the two goals for Germany in the game. In the second game Poland would take on the co-hosts Austria in Vienna. Roger Guerreiro opened the scoring for Poland in the 30th minute. Austria equalized in stoppage time in the 93rd minute after a very controversial penalty, which the Austrian striker Ivica Vastic converted making the final score 1–1. In any hopes of qualifying Poland would need a large victory in their last game against Croatia. However, Croatia went on to beat Poland 1–0 and eliminated them from the tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 3

Poland's qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup has been their worst to date. Despite being drawn in a seemingly easy group with Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and San Marino, Poland finished in 5th place only ahead of San Marino, with a record of 3 victories 2 draws and 5 losses. The campaign started off well enough with a total of 7 points in the first three matches. A respectable 1–1 draw against future world cup qualifiers Slovenia was seen as an undesirable result at start. A routine victory over San Marino, and an impressive win over the Czech Republic left Poland at the top of the table after 3 games. The match against Slovakia in Bratislava was seen as the turning point in qualifying. Poland was leading 1–0 until the 85th minute when Stanislav Šesták scored an equalizer after an error by Artur Boruc. Then just a minute later Šesták got his second making the final score 2–1 in Slovakia's favor. The next opponent was Northern Ireland; the match, which was played at Windsor Park in Belfast, was seen as a crucial match for Poland, as their hopes of qualification hung in the balance. The ground was not in the best condition, which allowed for a horrific mistake in the 61st minute when Michał Żewłakow passed the ball back to Boruc who miskicked the ball while it hopped over his foot on a bumpy pitch. Northern Ireland went on to win the game 3–2. Following that crucial loss Poland recorded their largest victory ever, defeating San Marino 10–0. However, in the last three matches Poland managed just a 1–1 draw with Northern Ireland, and two losses to the eventual two World Cup qualifiers Slovenia and Slovakia.

Euro 2012

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012
UEFA Euro 2012 opening match between Poland - Greece at the National stadium in Warsaw.

On April 18, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales, Poland along with Ukraine were elected by the UEFA’s Executive Committee to co-host the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. It was the 14th European Championship. Poland’s and Ukraine’s bid defeated the other shortlisted bids from Italy and Croatia/Hungary, becoming the third successful joint-bid for the European Championship, after those of Belgium/Netherlands, for Euro 2000, and Austria/Switzerland for Euro 2008. The Polish-Ukrainian hosting is seen as a way of shifting the focus towards regions and nations of central and eastern Europe, whose population demonstrates a strong feeling for football, but are less developed in terms of the quality of the local leagues and football infrastructure, when compared with western Europe. The final tournament draw was held in, Kiev, Ukraine and the groups were decided. Poland, automatically seeded in Group A, were drawn with Russia, Greece and Czech Republic. The host team were eliminated without earning a single win after a 1-0 loss against the Czech Republic.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Czech Republic 3 2 0 1 4 5 −1 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Greece 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4[a]
3  Russia 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4[a]
4  Poland (H) 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head result: Greece 1–0 Russia.
Poland 1–1 Greece
 Report
Attendance: 56,070[2]
Russia 4–1 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 40,803[3]
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
Greece 1–2 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 41,105[4]
Poland 1–1 Russia
 Report
Attendance: 55,920[5]
Czech Republic 1–0 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 41,480[6]
Greece 1–0 Russia
 Report
Attendance: 55,614[7]
Poland 1 – 1 Greece
Lewandowski 17' Report Salpingidis 51'
Attendance: 56,070
Poland 1 – 1 Russia
Błaszczykowski 57' Report Dzagoev 37'
Attendance: 55,920
Czech Republic 1 – 0 Poland
Jiráček 72' Report
Attendance: 41,480

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

The preliminary draw was held and Poland was drawn in Group H of the European FIFA World Cup qualifying along with England, Montenegro, co-hosts for Euro 2012 Ukraine, Moldova and San Marino.

Poland started their campaign on 7 September 2012 away at Montenegro. Captain Jakub Błaszczykowski gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot but two strikes before half-time put the hosts in front. Adrian Mierzejewski headed in a 55th minute equaliser as the game finished in a 2-2 draw. Poland won their first game of the group four days later as they defeated Moldova 2-0 in Wroclaw. Blaszczykowski's first half penalty and Jakub Wawrzyniak's late header was enough for victory. Poland's next scheduled qualifier was against England on 16 October 2012. However, due to heavy rain the pitch was deemed unplayable by the referee and it was decided that the game would take place the following day. When the match finally took place, Kamil Glik's second half header cancelled out Wayne Rooney's first half header in a 1-1 draw. Poland suffered their first defeat of the qualifying campaign at home to Ukraine. The visitors were two goals up inside seven minutes before Lukasz Piszczek pulled a goal back. Ukraine scored again on the stroke of half-time as the game ended 1-3. Poland faced San Marino on 26 March and won 5-0. Poland will face Moldavia on 7 June.

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

Competitive record

Kazimierz Górski (right)
Host Nation(s) – Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter - - - - - -
Italy 1934 Withdrew - - - - - -
France 1938 Round 1 1 0 0 1 5 6
Brazil 1950 Did not enter - - - - - -
Switzerland 1954 Withdrew - - - - - -
Sweden 1958 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Chile 1962 Did not qualify - - - - - -
England 1966 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Mexico 1970 Did not qualify - - - - - -
West Germany 1974 Third place 7 6 0 1 16 5
Argentina 1978 Round 2 6 3 1 2 6 6
Spain 1982 Third place 7 3 3 1 11 5
Mexico 1986 Round of 16 4 1 1 2 1 7
Italy 1990 Did not qualify - - - - - -
United States 1994 Did not qualify - - - - - -
France 1998 Did not qualify - - - - - -
South Korea Japan 2002 Round 1 3 1 0 2 3 7
Germany 2006 Round 1 3 1 0 2 2 4
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Brazil 2014 Qualification in progress - - - - - -
Russia 2018 - - - - - - -
Qatar 2022 - - - - - - -
Total 7/19 31 15 5 11 44 40

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did not qualify
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996
Belgium Netherlands 2000
Portugal 2004
Austria Switzerland 2008 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 1 4
Poland Ukraine 2012 Group stage 14th 3 0 2 1 2 3
France 2016 To be determined
Total Group stage 2/14 6 0 3 3 3 7

Olympic Games record

Host Nation(s) – Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
Greece 1896 Did not enter - - - - - -
France 1900 Did not enter - - - - - -
United States 1904 Did not enter - - - - - -
Greece 1906 Did not enter - - - - - -
United Kingdom 1908 Did not enter - - - - - -
Sweden 1912 Did not enter - - - - - -
Belgium 1920 Did not enter - - - - - -
France 1924 Round 1 1 0 0 1 0 5
Netherlands 1928 Did not qualify - - - - - -
United States 1932 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Nazi Germany 1936 Fourth place 4 2 0 2 11 10
United Kingdom 1948 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Finland 1952 Round 1 2 1 0 1 2 3
Australia 1956 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Italy 1960 Group stage 3 1 0 2 7 5
Japan 1964 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Mexico 1968 Did not qualify - - - - - -
West Germany 1972 Champions 7 6 1 0 21 5
Canada 1976 Runners-up 5 3 1 1 12 5
Soviet Union 1980 Did not qualify - - - - - -
United States 1984 Did not qualify - - - - - -
South Korea 1988 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Spain 1992 Runners-up 6 4 1 1 17 6
Total 7/23 28 17 3 8 70 39
Football at the summer Olympics has been an U-23 tournament since 1992.

Honours

  • Third place (2) 1974 1974 1982 1982
  • Gold medal (1) 1972 Olympics 1972
  • Silver medal (2) 1976 Olympics 1976 1976 Olympics 1992

Team image

Names

The official FIFA country code for Poland is POL. This abbreviation is used to identify the team in FIFA, UEFA, and other matches. The same abbreviation is also used under the International Organization for Standardization. "Polish national football team" can be translated into Polish as "Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej". The team's nicknames include "Biało-czerwoni" which means "The white-reds" and "Białe Orły" which translates into "The White Eagles". These are the most common names given to the Polish national football team.

National kits

The national kits of Poland reflect the colors of the national flag which are white and red. Apart from minor details (in the 1920s the socks in the home kit were striped), the design remains unchanged since 1921. The home kit consists of a white shirt, red shorts and white socks; the away kit is all red (though sometimes worn with white shorts). On the rare occasions when both home and away kits clash with the opponent's a colours third kit is available, usually in either black or blue (currently navy blue with white-red sleeves). The kit has traditionally been adorned with the white eagle, the Polish coat of arms, and not, as with many other national teams, the national football federation logo. The current kits are provided by Nike.

Stadium

The national football team of Poland does not have one set stadium where it plays its matches. Various cities have been granted hosting duties, including Bydgoszcz, Chorzów, Gdańsk, Kielce, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, Wrocław and Warsaw.

In recent years, many of Poland's most important matches have been played in the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów. The stadium was built in 1956 and seats 47,246 people. The record attendance came on October 20, 1956 when 100,000 fans witnessed a game between Poland and the Soviet Union, with Poland achieving a 2–1 victory. This holds the record for the most spectators to watch the Polish national football team. The stadium is currently being renovated to seat 55,210. In 1993, the stadium was designated as the official home stadium of the Polish national football team.

A new National Stadium was constructed in Warsaw with an expected capacity of 58,145 seats. Following Euro 2012, this stadium will be used as the venue for some matches of the Polish national team.

Results and fixtures

  Win

  Draw

  Loss

Date Venue Opponent Competition Score Goalscorer(s) Attendance
29 February 2012 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  Portugal Friendly 0–0 53,179
22 May 2012 Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt  Latvia Friendly 1–0 Artur Sobiech 500
26 May 2012 Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt  Slovakia Friendly 1–0 Damien Perquis 734
2 June 2012 Pepsi Arena, Warsaw  Andorra Friendly 4–0 Ludovic Obraniak, Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Marcin Wasilewski 26,000
8 June 2012 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  Greece Euro 2012 1–1 Robert Lewandowski 56,826
12 June 2012 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  Russia Euro 2012 1–1 Jakub Błaszczykowski 55,920
16 June 2012 Stadion Miejski, Wrocław  Czech Republic Euro 2012 0–1 41,480
15 August 2012 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn  Estonia Friendly 0–1 5,312
7 September 2012 Stadion Pod Goricom, Podgorica  Montenegro 2014 World Cup qualifier 2–2 Jakub Błaszczykowski, Adrian Mierzejewski 11,420
11 September 2012 Stadion Miejski, Wrocław  Moldova 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier 2–0 Jakub Błaszczykowski, Jakub Wawrzyniak 26,145
12 October 2012 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  South Africa Friendly 1–0 Marcin Komorowski 42,026
17 October 2012 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  England 2014 World Cup qualifier 1–1 Kamil Glik 47,300
14 November 2012 PGE Arena, Gdańsk  Uruguay Friendly 1–3 Ludovic Obraniak 39,460
14 December 2012 Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya  Macedonia Friendly 4–1 Arkadiusz Milik, Szymon Pawłowski, Artur Jędrzejczyk, Waldemar Sobota 20
2 February 2013 Estadio Ciudad, Málaga Romania Romania U-23 Friendly 4–1 Szymon Pawłowski, Łukasz Teodorczyk (2), Daniel Łukasik 100
6 February 2013 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Republic of Ireland Friendly 0–2 43,112
22 March 2013 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  Ukraine 2014 World Cup qualifier 1-3 Łukasz Piszczek 55,565
26 March 2013 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  San Marino 2014 World Cup qualifier 5-0 Robert Lewandowski (2), Łukasz Piszczek, Łukasz Teodorczyk, Jakub Kosecki 45,000
1 June 2013 Stadion Cracovii, Kraków  Liechtenstein Friendly
7 June 2013 Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău  Moldova 2014 World Cup qualifier
14 August 2013 PGE Arena, Gdańsk  Denmark Friendly
6 September 2013 Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw  Montenegro 2014 World Cup qualifier
10 September 2013 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle  San Marino 2014 World Cup qualifier
11 October 2013 Ukraine  Ukraine 2014 World Cup qualifier
15 October 2013 Wembley Stadium, London  England 2014 World Cup qualifier

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Ukraine in March 22, 2013 and San Marino in March 26, 2013.

Caps and goals updated as of, March 26, 2013.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Artur Boruc (1980-02-20) February 20, 1980 (age 44) 48 0 England Southampton
12 1GK Wojciech Szczęsny (1990-04-18) April 18, 1990 (age 34) 13 0 England Arsenal
22 1GK Przemysław Tytoń (1987-01-04) January 4, 1987 (age 37) 13 0 Netherlands PSV
27 2DF Marcin Wasilewski (1980-06-09) June 9, 1980 (age 44) 60 2 Belgium Anderlecht
26 2DF Łukasz Piszczek (1985-06-03) June 3, 1985 (age 39) 34 2 Germany Borussia Dortmund
14 2DF Jakub Wawrzyniak (1983-07-07) July 7, 1983 (age 41) 34 1 Poland Legia Warsaw
15 2DF Kamil Glik (1988-02-03) February 3, 1988 (age 36) 18 2 Italy Torino
2 2DF Sebastian Boenisch (1987-02-01) February 1, 1987 (age 37) 11 0 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
4 2DF Marcin Komorowski (1984-04-17) April 17, 1984 (age 40) 8 1 Russia Terek Grozny
3 2DF Piotr Celeban (1985-06-25) June 25, 1985 (age 39) 6 0 Romania Vaslui
5 2DF Bartosz Salamon (1991-05-01) May 1, 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Italy Milan
16 3MF Jakub Błaszczykowski Captain (1985-12-14) December 14, 1985 (age 39) 60 12 Germany Borussia Dortmund
18 3MF Adrian Mierzejewski (1986-11-06) November 6, 1986 (age 38) 33 2 Turkey Trabzonspor
10 3MF Ludovic Obraniak (1984-11-10) November 10, 1984 (age 40) 32 6 France Bordeaux
20 3MF Maciej Rybus (1989-08-19) August 19, 1989 (age 35) 24 1 Russia Terek Grozny
21 3MF Kamil Grosicki (1988-06-08) June 8, 1988 (age 36) 21 0 Turkey Sivasspor
7 3MF Eugen Polanski (1986-03-17) March 17, 1986 (age 38) 17 0 Germany Hoffenheim
8 3MF Grzegorz Krychowiak (1990-01-29) January 29, 1990 (age 34) 9 0 France Reims
19 3MF Radosław Majewski (1986-12-15) December 15, 1986 (age 38) 9 0 England Nottingham Forest
6 3MF Ariel Borysiuk (1991-07-29) July 29, 1991 (age 33) 8 0 Germany Kaiserslautern
25 3MF Daniel Łukasik (1991-04-28) April 28, 1991 (age 33) 4 1 Poland Legia Warsaw
17 3MF Jakub Kosecki (1990-08-29) August 29, 1990 (age 34) 3 1 Poland Legia Warsaw
9 4FW Robert Lewandowski (1988-08-21) August 21, 1988 (age 36) 53 17 Germany Borussia Dortmund
23 4FW Arkadiusz Milik (1994-02-28) February 28, 1994 (age 30) 6 1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
24 4FW Łukasz Teodorczyk (1991-06-03) June 3, 1991 (age 33) 3 3 Poland Lech Poznań

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Łukasz Skorupski (1991-05-05) May 5, 1991 (age 33)goals=0 - - Poland Górnik Zabrze v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
GK Jakub Słowik (1991-08-31) August 31, 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
GK Tomasz Kuszczak Injured (1982-03-20) March 20, 1982 (age 42) 11 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion v.  Uruguay, 14 November 2012
GK Łukasz Fabiański (1985-04-18) April 18, 1985 (age 39) 21 0 England Arsenal v.  Moldova, 11 September 2012
GK Grzegorz Sandomierski (1989-09-05) September 5, 1989 (age 35) 3 0 England Blackburn Rovers UEFA Euro 2012
DF Damien Perquis Injured (1984-04-10) April 10, 1984 (age 40) 14 1 Spain Real Betis v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
DF Łukasz Broź (1985-12-17) December 17, 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Poland Widzew Łódź v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
DF Tomasz Jodłowiec (1985-09-08) September 8, 1985 (age 39) 27 0 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
DF Artur Jędrzejczyk (1987-11-04) November 4, 1987 (age 37) 3 1 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
DF Jakub Rzeźniczak (1986-10-26) October 26, 1986 (age 38) 8 0 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Macedonia, 14 December 2012
DF Adam Danch (1987-12-15) December 15, 1987 (age 37) 2 0 Poland Górnik Zabrze v.  Macedonia, 14 December 2012
DF Bartosz Rymaniak (1989-11-13) November 13, 1989 (age 35) 1 0 Poland Zagłębie Lubin v.  Macedonia, 14 December 2012
DF Piotr Brożek (1983-04-21) April 21, 1983 (age 41) 5 1 Poland Lechia Gdańsk v.  Uruguay, 14 November 2012
DF Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (1984-01-26) January 26, 1984 (age 40) 20 0 Germany 1860 Munich v.  England, 17 October 2012
DF Marcin Kamiński (1992-01-15) January 15, 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Poland Lech Poznań v.  Estonia, 15 August 2012
MF Szymon Pawłowski (1986-11-04) November 4, 1986 (age 38) 15 2 Poland Zagłębie Lubin v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
MF Przemysław Kaźmierczak (1982-05-05) May 5, 1982 (age 42) 11 1 Poland Śląsk Wrocław v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
MF Paweł Wszołek (1992-04-30) April 30, 1992 (age 32) 4 0 Poland Polonia Warsaw v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
MF Waldemar Sobota (1987-05-19) May 19, 1987 (age 37) 5 2 Poland Śląsk Wrocław v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
FW Tomasz Kupisz (1990-01-02) January 2, 1990 (age 34) 4 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
MF Dominik Furman (1992-07-06) July 6, 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
MF Łukasz Trałka (1984-05-11) May 11, 1984 (age 40) 7 0 Poland Lech Poznań v.  Uruguay, 14 November 2012
MF Rafał Murawski (1981-10-09) October 9, 1981 (age 43) 48 1 Poland Lech Poznań v.  England, 17 October 2012
MF Janusz Gol (1985-11-11) November 11, 1985 (age 39) 8 0 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Estonia, 15 August 2012
MF Dariusz Dudka (1983-12-09) December 9, 1983 (age 41) 65 2 Spain Levante UEFA Euro 2012
MF Adam Matuszczyk (1989-02-14) February 14, 1989 (age 35) 20 1 Germany Köln UEFA Euro 2012
MF Rafał Wolski (1992-11-10) November 10, 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Italy Fiorentina UEFA Euro 2012
FW Artur Sobiech (1990-06-12) June 12, 1990 (age 34) 8 1 Germany Hannover 96 v.  Republic of Ireland, 6 February 2013
FW Michał Kucharczyk (1991-03-20) March 20, 1991 (age 33) 6 0 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
FW Mariusz Stępiński (1995-05-12) May 12, 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Poland Widzew Łódź v.  Romania, 3 February 2013
FW Arkadiusz Piech (1985-06-07) June 7, 1985 (age 39) 4 0 Turkey Sivasspor v.  Macedonia, 14 December 2012
FW Marek Saganowski (1978-10-31) October 31, 1978 (age 46) 35 5 Poland Legia Warsaw v.  Moldova, 11 September 2012
FW Paweł Brożek (1983-04-21) April 21, 1983 (age 41) 36 8 Spain Recreativo UEFA Euro 2012

Previous squads

Notable players

Players who appeared at least 50 times for the national team or scored at least 10 goals.

  • Bold – Indicates player with at least 50 caps and 10 goals.

Managers

Poland national team managers since 1922 from to
Józef Szkolnikowski 1921-03-12 1922-05-14
Józef Lustgarten 1922-05-14 1922-09-03
Kazimierz Glabisz 1923-06-03 1923-11-01
Adam Obrubański 1924-08-10 1924-08-31
Tadeusz Kuchar 1925-07-19 1925-07-19
Tadeusz Synowiec 1925-08-30 1927-06-19
Tadeusz Kuchar 1928-06-10 1928-06-10
Stefan Loth 1928-07-01 1931-10-25
Józef Kałuża 1932-05-29 1939-08-27
Henryk Reyman 1947-06-11 1947-08-31
Andrzej Przeworski 1947-09-14 1947-10-26
Zygmunt Alfus 1948-04-04 1948-09-19
Andrzej Przeworski 1948-10-10 1948-10-17
Mieczysław Szymkowiak 1949-05-08 1949-11-06
Mieczysław Szymkowiak 1950-05-01 1950-10-22
Ryszard Koncewicz 1953-05-10 1956-07-22
Alfred Nowakowski 1956-08-26 1956-08-26
Czesław Krug 1956-10-28 1956-11-16
Henryk Reyman 1957-05-19 1958-10-05
Czesław Krug 1959-05-20 1962-11-28
Wiesław Motoczyński 1963-05-15 1965-11-01
Ryszard Koncewicz 1966-01-05 1966-01-05
Antoni Brzeżańczyk 1966-05-03 1966-07-05
Alfred Nowakowski 1966-09-11 1966-10-22
Michał Matyas 1966-11-17 1967-10-29
Ryszard Koncewicz 1968-04-24 1970-10-25
Kazimierz Górski 1971-05-05 1976-07-31
Jacek Gmoch 1976-10-16 1978-09-06
Ryszard Kulesza 1978-10-11 1980-12-07
Antoni Piechniczek 1981-01-25 1986-06-16
Wojciech Łazarek 1986-10-07 1989-06-03
Andrzej Strejlau 1989-08-23 1993-09-22
Lesław Ćmikiewicz 1993-10-13 1993-11-17
Henryk Apostel 1994-02-09 1995-11-15
Władysław Stachurski 1996-02-19 1996-05-01
Antoni Piechniczek 1996-06-02 1997-05-31
Krzysztof Pawlak 1997-06-14 1997-06-14
Janusz Wójcik 1997-09-06 1999-10-09
Jerzy Engel 2000-01-26 2002-06-14
Zbigniew Boniek 2002-07-15 2002-11-20
Paweł Janas 2003-02-12 2006-06-20
Leo Beenhakker 2006-07-11 2009-09-10
Stefan Majewski 2009-09-17 2009-10-28
Franciszek Smuda 2009-10-29 2012-06-16
Waldemar Fornalik 2012-07-10 present

See also

References

  1. ^ Majchrzak, Grzegorz (23–29 July 2012). "Banda czworga, czyli afera na Okęciu". Uważam Rze (in Polish). Warsaw: Presspublica: 84–87. ISSN 2082-8292.
  2. ^ "Full-time report Poland-Greece" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Full-time report Russia-Czech Republic" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Full-time report Greece-Czech Republic" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Full-time report Poland-Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Full-time report Czech Republic-Poland" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Full-time report Greece-Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
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