When it comes to the Polish national team, young fans probably only know about the former Dortmund musketeers led by Lewandowski and the two former Arsenal goalkeepers Fabianski and Szesny. At this summer's Euro 2016, Poland performed well, reaching the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in history. If the penalty shootout had been a little luckier, they could have even eliminated the final champions Portugal. However, as the dark horse of the European Championship, they won the first victory in history at this European Championship.
However, when it comes to the performance of the Polish national team in the World Cup, it is much stronger than in the European Cup. Although Poland has not reached the round of 32 in the last two World Cups, the last time it played in the World Cup was in 2006. But they finished twice at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany and the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and they reached the quarter-finals at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. In the overall world cup standings, Poland, which has only reached the World Cup seven times, is in 15th place, and its efficiency is not bad. The best Polish footballers are Deina, Gadoccia, Tomaszewski, Lubanski, Rato, Bonek and so on.
The classic battle of ancient times Heard the first cry of Poland
The Polish Football Association was founded in December 1919 to compete in the Following Year's Antwerp Olympic Games but was unable to do so for various reasons. The first international match of the Polish national team was a 1–0 defeat to Hungary in Budapest on 18 December 1921. In 1924 it competed in the Paris Olympic football tournament, where it lost 0:5 to the feet of the Hungarian team. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Poland made significant progress, beating Hungary and Great Britain 3:0 and 5:4 in the competition, losing to Austria (1:3) in the semi-finals and losing to Norway (2:3) in the third place.
In 1938, Poland reached the World Cup final for the first time. They and Brazil fought a classic battle in the history of the World Cup. The course of the game was full of ups and downs, with Brazil scoring first in the 18th minute by Leonidas, and five minutes later, Poland's Zefk scored a goal. In the 90 minutes, the score alternately rose, and Brazil always managed to take the lead, but the Poles stubbornly equalized every time, 1-0, 1-1, 3-1, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, and the two sides fought 4-4 in 90 minutes. In extra time, the heroic Leonidas scored two goals in a row, and although the opposing team's Wieimovsky pulled back a point, Brazil won 6-5.
The contest is a direct dialogue between two sharpshooters, Brazil's "black pearl" Leonidas versus Poland's number one sharp edge Wielimovski. As a result of the 120-minute conversation, the two sides scored four goals each, but because Leonidas scored his fourth goal 14 minutes earlier than the opponent (Leonidas scored the fourth goal in the 114th minute and Wielimovski scored the fourth goal in the 118th minute), he also preemptively wrote himself into the annals of history, becoming the first person in the history of the World Cup to score four goals in a single game
Brilliant 1970s and 1980s Polish iron army shook the world
After 1938, Poland was away from the World Cup for many years, until 1974, when they finally participated in the World Cup again. The 1970s and early 1980s were the most glorious years of Polish football, when they won gold medals in the 1972 Olympic football event. Therefore, as Olympic men's gold medalists, Poland's achievements in the 1974 World Cup were not a dark horse, they were really strong at that time. Poland was successful in 1974, taking third place in Germany with a goal from the previous champions Brazil.
There were 16 teams participating in the 1974 World Cup, and the rules have changed a lot from the past. The final stage of the competition is divided into three stages, the first 16 participating teams are divided into four groups, each group playing a single round robin. The top two teams in the group, or eight teams, advanced. The eight teams then split into two groups for a single round robin. The first place in each group advances to the final, while the second place participates in the third and fourth place finals.
Poland were on a losing streak in the first group stage, beating Argentina 3-2, then Haiti 7-0, and finally 2-1 against Italy, the runners-up. He scored 12 goals in three games, making it the team with the most goals in the group stage. In the second stage of the competition, they were grouped with West Germany, Sweden and the former Yugoslavia. They beat Sweden 1-0, the former Yugoslavia 2-1 and only lost 0-1 to West Germany and missed the final. In the third and fourth place finals, with the good performance of striker Rato, Poland won the third place in the World Cup in a historic way. Rato was also voted the top scorer of the World Cup with 7 goals.
Poland also had a good performance at the 1978 World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals. They beat defending champions West Germany 0-0 in the first group stage, then beat Tunisia and Mexico 1-0, 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals. In the second stage, they were grouped with three South American teams from Brazil, Argentina and Peru. In the end, they lost 0-2 to Argentina and 1-3 to Brazil, but they defeated Peru 1-0 and Poland finished fifth.
In the 1982 World Cup, Poland once again won the third place in the World Cup, which shocked the world. The rules of this tournament have changed from the previous one: for the first time, 24 teams will participate in the final stage, divided into 6 groups. The top two teams in each group (with a total of 12 teams) advance to the second round and are then divided into 4 groups. The first place in each group will advance to the semi-finals and decide the winner. It was also the only World Cup tournament to adopt this procedure. Poland drew 0-0 with Italy and Cameroon in the first group stage, and defeated Peru 5-1 in the final round of 12. In the second stage of the group stage they were grouped with Belgium and the former Soviet Union. In the end, they defeated Belgium 3-0 and drew 0-0 with the former Soviet Union to advance to the final four. In the semi-finals, they faced Italy again, but Italy eliminated Poland twice with the help of golden boy Rossi. In the third and fourth place finals, Poland beat France 3-2 and once again finished third in the World Cup.
The long trough struggled after the glory faded
Poland, which has had a wonderful performance in three consecutive World Cups, killed the World Cup again in 1986. They drew 0-0 with Morocco in the group stage, beat Portugal 1-0 and Lost 3-0 to England to advance to the round of 16. However, in the quarter-finals, they were bloodbathed by Brazil's four goals and missed the quarterfinals. After this World Cup, Poland began to fall into a long low. Three consecutive World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998) were eliminated in the qualifiers. After Bognek, the Polish team withered away, and the young and yellow gradually forgot about the Polish team.
It was not until the 2002 World Cup, with its outstanding performance in the qualifiers, that the Polish national team finally returned to the final round of the World Cup after a gap of 16 years. In the world cup qualifiers, the Polish team went all the way, and 1/3 of the goals of the whole team were completed by Olissadebe, who successfully entered the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and Olissadbe was also named the Polish Footballer of the Year. As a naturalized black player, Olissadbe is considered a national hero in Poland, and later he also played for Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League. But Poland's performance in the 02 World Cup was terrible. They lost 0-2 to host South Korea in their first match, and lost 0-4 to Portugal. In the last game, they finally defeated the United States 3-1 to save face and win their first World Cup victory after many years, including the first record to be Olissard Bay. However, in the end, they were still at the bottom of the group.
In the 2006 World Cup, Poland qualified for the 7th World Cup. They are grouped with their hosts, Germany, Ecuador and Costa Rica. They lost 0-2 to Ecuador in their first match, and they lost 1-0 to Germany when they were finalised in the last minute by German veteran Neuville. It wasn't until the last game that they won 2-1 against Costa Rica. As they did four years ago, they were out of the group again. However, being able to enter the World Cup twice in a row is already a sign of rise for Poland. In October 2007, the Polish team ushered in a historic moment, they fought in the last match of the 08 European Championship qualifiers in Belgrade, and the opponent Serbia drew 2-2, not only locked the first place in Group A, but also successfully entered the 2008 European Championship finals jointly organized by Austria and Switzerland, which is also the first time in the history of the Polish team to impact the European Championship finals, the first success, they are like the host Austria team is the new team in the 08 European Championships.
But their path to revival has not been smooth. At Euro 2008 they were grouped with Germany, Croatia and Austria. In the first match, they lost 0-2 to their old rival Germany, then drew 1-1 with host Austria in the second match, and lost 0-1 to Croatia in the final match, and the group was out. Four years later, at Euro 2012, Poland and Ukraine won the hosting rights, with Poland automatically becoming one of the teams in final week as hosts. But Poland's performance was very disappointing. They scored only two and one loss in the group stage, and the last place in the group was out. They opened their game against former champions Greece, with Lewandowski opening the scoring and then being equalised, and Szesni was sent off for a red card, but substitute goalkeeper Titon magically saved the penalty and the two sides shook hands in the end. They drew 1-1 with Russia. In the last game, the Czech Republic lost 0-1 to the czech republic again at the bottom of the group. It is disappointing that such a weak group cannot qualify for the home field.
In the World Cup, Poland's performance was even more disappointing. After the 06 World Cup was out, I did not expect that Poland began to miss the World Cup finals again. In the 10 World Cup and 14 World Cup qualifiers, Poland was unfortunately out. Among them, in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Poland trailed England, Ukraine and Montenegro, and only ranked fourth in the group with 3 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, which was really disappointing. You should know that Poland at that time already had the Dortmund three musketeers led by Lewandowski and several good goalkeepers. It is indeed a pity that such a lineup did not qualify for the World Cup. It is worth mentioning that Lewandowski has not participated in a World Cup so far.
After waiting for many years, we finally ushered in a new glory
In recent years, although Poland has not achieved any dazzling results in the competition, there have also been many outstanding stars. They have a number of excellent goalkeepers, such as former Liverpool goalkeeper Dudek, who single-handedly created the Istanbul miracle, two goalkeepers Szesny and Fabianski, who have played for Arsenal, and Boruts, who is currently playing for Bournemouth, who are also very strong. In terms of the position of goalkeeper, Poland's strength is very good.
Of course, the most well-known is Bayern striker Lewandowski, and after many years, Poland has produced truly world-class players. Lewandowski and Kuba and Piszczek formed the invincible Polish Three Musketeers at Dortmund, and although the first two have left Dortmund, they are still an absolute golden combination in the national team. Coupled with the talented rising star striker Milik, midfield commander Krihoviak, defensive leader Glick and others, they finally achieved glory at Euro 2016.
Poland was once again tied to old rivals Germany at the European Championships, along with Ukraine and Northern Ireland. They beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in their opening game, with Milik's goal helping them to win their first european championship history. In this battle, Poland stubbornly drew with its old rival Germany. In the final round, with a goal from the bench of veteran Kuba, they beat Ukraine by one goal and successfully advanced to the round of sixteen. In the quarter-finals, it was Kuba who opened the scoring to help Poland take the lead, and Shaqiri's beautiful barbs helped Switzerland equalize in the second half. Relying on Fabianski's outstanding performances, they managed to survive the penalty shootout and won on penalties, reaching the quarter-finals of Europe for the first time in history. In the quarter-finals, Levan opened the scoring for Poland in the opening two minutes, but was later equalized by Portugal. In the penalty shootout, Kuba regrettably missed the penalty and missed the final four.
Although Poland's performance in the European Championship is not particularly eye-catching, they are gradually rising up after creating the best results in the history of the European Championship. If they're a little lucky, they could even make it to the final four. In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Poland currently has four games and is at the top of the group table, pushing Montenegro, Denmark, Romania, Armenia and Kazakhstan to the top of the group, and the chance of reaching the World Cup finals is quite large. After being unexpectedly drawn by Kazakhstan in the first match, Poland won successive victories against Denmark, Armenia and Romania, with Levan scoring seven goals in four games, worthy of the strength of a world-class goalscorer. If there are no accidents, Levan should have a chance to appear in the World Cup this time.
Historical stars
Grzegorz Lato
Born on 8 April 1950, Gregorzh Lato plays as a right winger but has a great sense of scoring goals, with the inside cut to the middle attack being what he does best. Grzegorz Rato devoted much of his career to the Polish domestic team Stal Mielec, where he played 272 games and scored 111 goals, winning two league titles and twice being the league's top scorer. What really made the world know About Gorzeh Lato was the Polish national team and the stage of the World Cup. On 17 November 1971, Rato made his debut for Poland, drawing 0–0 with West Germany, and until 17 April 1984, when he played his final match for the national team against Belgium, Rato made 95 appearances and scored 42 goals in Poland.
At the 1974 World Cup, Rato surprised the world along with the Polish team. In the group stage, they defeated Argentina (3-2) and Italy (2-1) and swept Haiti 7-0 to advance to the second stage with the top spot in the group. In that tournament, Poland won 6 of 7 matches, only to lose a crucial battle with West Germany, and could only participate in the competition for the third and fourth places, and in the end, they beat Brazil 1-0 to win the bronze medal and get the best result in the history of the World Cup in Poland. In that tournament, Rato also shined personally, and he was particularly sharp in his breakthroughs on the right and forward thrusts. After 7 games, he scored seven goals and was named the top scorer of that World Cup.
In the 1978 World Cup, Poland finished fifth, Ando's personal performance was also outstanding, scoring 2 goals, many assists, the most famous scene was in the match with Argentina, Rato's header was about to cross the goal line, but was played by Kempes flying with his hand, and then Poland lost a penalty and also lost a key battle. In 1982, at the age of 32, Rato accompanied Poland to the World Cup in Spain, and Bonek's rise replaced his number one star position, but Rato's assists still played an important role, and in the end, Poland again finished third, and Rato won his second World Cup bronze medal in 8 years.
In three World Cups, Rato played in 20 games, scoring 10 goals (none of which were penalties) and 7 assists. Pele, the king of the ball, admired Rato very much and had issued a personal invitation to him to play with the New York Universe, but due to the rules of the Polish Football Association at that time that players under the age of 30 were not allowed to transfer abroad, Rato was unable to make the trip. Later, although he transferred to The Rockren of Belgium and also played in the leagues of Mexico and Canada, he was older and did not have outstanding results. Due to his lack of experience playing for the big Clubs in Europe, Rato was not included in the official UEFA list of the 50 greatest European players in history, but many believe that he is actually one of the most underrated players in European football. In 2008, Rato was elected president of the Polish Football Association.
Zbignev Bonnek
Legendary star Boneck is one of the greatest players in the history of Polish football and the most famous player in Eastern European football in the 80s. Bonek also won FIFA's "FIFA Centennial Star" for his outstanding performances in the national team and Juventus, ranking 68th.
Bonek scored 24 goals in 80 games for the Polish national team, and in 1982 He helped Poland achieve the best result in World Cup history – third place – on the World Cup stage. After the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Bonek was the manager of the Polish national team, but due to poor handling of the relationship between the generals, after leading the team to participate in only 5 international matches, Bonek was dismissed in December 2002. As one of the best players in the history of Polish football, he has performed well in the World Cup and European club competitions. He began his fame while playing for Vizefloz. He scored a hat-trick against Belgium at the 1982 World Cup and was watched by Juventus. He then joined the Serie A powerhouse for €1.6 million. Bidding farewell to the Polish league and moving to Juventus, he formed the most luxurious foreign aid team in Serie A with Platini and Laudrup. In the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup final, he scored the winning goal for Juventus, helping the team beat FC Porto. The following year, he also won the European Cup with Juventus in defeating defending champions Liverpool in the shadow of the Heysse massacre. This created his illustrious career.
Bonneck then switched to Roma and officially announced his retirement in 1988. Interestingly, in Serie A, Bonek always had a particularly prominent performance in the night games, and many of his wonderful goals also came from these late matches, and he was even jokingly called "night beauty" by President Juve.
Yelzi Dudek
The 2005 European Champions League final was the pinnacle of his career. On the night in Istanbul, in the final success-or-defeat penalty shootout, Yerzi Dudek danced a hilarious water snake dance to block Milan's two penalties, helping Liverpool win the fifth Champions League trophy in the club's history. Especially against Shevchenko, the best striker in Europe at the time, his performance was miraculous, which brought his fame to the top. However, with the arrival of head coach Benitez's concubine Reina, Yelzi Dudek only played for the team in the 06-07 season in two games of Renner's suspension.
In 1996, Dudek was given his first chance to play in the Polish top flight, and after playing just 15 games for GKS Tychy, he was recognized by Feyenoord and quickly transferred to Feyenoord. After the Dutch international van der Sar went to the Premier League to pan for gold, he immediately became the main force of the team and a hero in the eyes of the fans, and in the 98/99 season he was voted the best goalkeeper in the Dutch League. Feyenoord coach at the time, Binghak, once said that Dudek was "the best goalkeeper I've seen in 30 years".
On the last day of August 2001, Dudek joined Liverpool, who won the goalkeeper after beating Arsenal and Everton. In his first season at Liverpool, Dudek only conceded 26 goals and played well, with many Liverpool fans playing him against Liverpool legend Clemens. But after the brilliant first season, Dudek's form began to decline, except for the magical performance of the penalty shootout in the 2005 Champions Cup final and the wonderful performance in the 2003 League Cup final, most of the time can only be said to be average.
Dudek is an absolute main force in the Polish national team, 02 and 06 two consecutive World Cups Poland can directly advance to the final round Dudek is indispensable, with Dudek led by the Polish defense is very tight and stable, it is difficult for opponents to score goals. In 2007 , Jerzi Dudek moved freely to Real Madrid as a substitute for Casillas.