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Poland national football team

 
Wikipedia: Poland national football team
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Poland
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Biało-czerwoni
("The white and reds")
Białe Orły
("The White Eagles")
Association Polish Football Association
(Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej)
Head coach Poland Franciszek Smuda
Captain Michał Żewłakow
Most caps Grzegorz Lato (100)
Top scorer Włodzimierz Lubański (48)
FIFA code POL
FIFA ranking 56
Highest FIFA ranking 16 (September 2007)
Lowest FIFA ranking 61 (March 1998)
Elo ranking 34
Highest Elo ranking 1 (October 1975)
Lowest Elo ranking 55 (August 1956, April 1998)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours
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
Appearances 7 (First in 1938)
Best result 3rd place (1974, 1982)
European Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2008)
Best result Round 1, 2008
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Silver 1992 Barcelona[1] Team
Silver 1976 Montreal Team
Gold 1972 Munich Team

The Poland national football team (Polish: Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej) is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association (PZPN).

Poland's football history is littered with boom and bust periods, with legendary teams such as the one of the mid-seventies that held England to a draw at Wembley to qualify for the World Cup in 1974, going on to finish third that year. Poland would accomplish the same result in 1982 where they also finished in third place beating France 3-2. Poland's largest win was over Norway with a score of 9-0 until the ten goals scored against San Marino on April 1, 2009.

Poland also won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal and in the 1992[1] in Barcelona. They first qualified for the European Football Championships in 2008, although they will compete as joint hosts in 2012 European Football Championship.

Contents

History

1919-1939 Early Years

The Polish Football Federation (Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej) was established on the 20th of December 1919, in Warsaw, Poland. Poland would play their first official international match on December 18, 1921 in Budapest were they lost to Hungary 1-0. Their first international win would come on May 28 in 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, Polish team, which had never before participated on such level, was supposed 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 its lone game of the tournament. The white and reds got to the extra time, only then losing 5-6. Ernest Wilimowski, who played his club football for Ruch Chorzów at the time, scored four 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 the 1938 World Cup Runners-up Hungary. The match stands out as an achievement as Poland defeated the strong favored Hungarian side 4-2.

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 would suffer 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 were 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. With their lighting 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.

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.

Poland celebrating victory over Brazil 1974

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 favor.

On July 3, 1974 came the game that could have sent Poland into the World Cup Final. 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 Germany would not agree. The game went ahead. Poland needed a win to be in the final, a tie 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 Muller scored the winning goal in the 76th minute for Germany, the ball trickled into the Polish net. 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

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 seventies and eighties Poland would encounter a period of drought being unable to qualify for any major tournament. During the late eighties to the late ninety’s Poland’s biggest achievement would be capturing the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

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 Poland should win against. Portugal was another matter but many did not dismiss the possibility of a tie. The South Koreans stunned Poland with a 2-0 win. Portugal did not give the Poles a chance as they strode easily to a 4-0 win and eliminated Poland. Poland showed what could have been made in this World Cup with in a 3-1 win over the USA in the final match.

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, 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, Poland lost their first game to Ecuador. The final score was 2-0 with goals from Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado. Poland lost to group leader Germany on June 14, in an epic game with the final score being 1-0 with a goal scored by Oliver Neuville in the 91st minute, thus ensuring their exit from the World Cup. In the last match Poland beat also eliminated Costa Rica 2-1 with both Polish goals scored by Bartosz Bosacki.

2008 Euro Cup

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Poland 14 8 4 2 24 12 +12 28
 Portugal 14 7 6 1 24 10 +14 27
 Serbia 14 6 6 2 22 11 +11 24
 Finland 14 6 6 2 13 7 +6 24
 Belgium 14 5 3 6 14 16 −2 18
 Kazakhstan 14 2 4 8 11 21 −10 10
 Armenia 12* 2 3 7 4 13 −9 9
 Azerbaijan 12* 1 2 9 6 28 −22 5
Ebi Smolarek

Poland began its Euro 2008 qualifying campaign on September 2, 2006 with a 1-3 loss against Finland at Zawisza Stadium in Bydgoszcz. They followed that up with a 1-1 tie 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).

Poland then faced Portugal on October 11, 2006, winning 2-1 in Chorzów. 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).

Poland’s qualification to the 2008 Euro Cup 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. 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 call by the referee insisting a penalty, in 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


Team
v • d • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Slovakia 10 7 1 2 22 10 +12 22
 Slovenia 10 6 2 2 18 4 +14 20
 Czech Republic 10 4 4 2 17 6 +11 16
 Northern Ireland 10 4 3 3 13 9 +4 15
 Poland 10 3 2 5 19 14 +5 11
 San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 47 −46 0
  Czech Republic Northern Ireland Poland San Marino Slovakia Slovenia
Czech Republic  – 0 – 0 2 – 0 7 – 0 1 – 2 1 – 0
Northern Ireland  0 – 0 – 3 – 2 4 – 0 0 – 2 1 – 0
Poland  2 – 1 1 – 1 – 10 – 0 0 – 1 1 – 1
San Marino  0 – 3 0 – 3 0 – 2 – 1 – 3 0 – 3
Slovakia  2 – 2 2 – 1 2 – 1 7 – 0 – 0 – 2
Slovenia  0 – 0 2 – 0 3 – 0 5 – 0 2 – 1 –


2008-09-06
17:00 UTC+2
 Poland  1 – 1  Slovenia Stadion Oporowska, Wrocław
Attendance: 7,300
Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland)
Żewłakow Goal 17' (pen.) Report Dedič Goal 35'
2008-09-10
20:30 UTC+2
 San Marino  0 – 2  Poland Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle
Attendance: 2,374
Referee: Christoforos Zografos (Greece)
Report Smolarek Goal 36'
Lewandowski R. Goal 66'
2008-10-11
20:30 UTC+2
 Poland  2 – 1  Czech Republic Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
Attendance: 47,246
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
Brożek Goal 27'
Błaszczykowski Goal 53'		 Report Fenin Goal 87'
2008-10-15
20:30 UTC+2
 Slovakia  2 – 1  Poland Tehelné pole, Bratislava
Attendance: 17,650
Referee: Bertrand Layec (France)
Šesták Goal 85' Goal 86' Report Smolarek Goal 70'
2009-03-28
17:15 UTC+0
 Northern Ireland  3 – 2  Poland Windsor Park, Belfast
Attendance: 13,357
Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
Feeney Goal 10'
Evans Goal 47'
Żewłakow Goal 61' (o.g.)		 Report Jeleń Goal 27'
Saganowski Goal 90+1'
2009-04-01
20:30 UTC+2
 Poland  10 – 0  San Marino Arena Kielc, Kielce
Attendance: 15,200
Referee: Aliaksei Kulbakou (Bulgaria)
Boguski Goal 1' Goal 27'
Smolarek Goal 18' Goal 60' Goal 72' Goal 81'
R. Lewandowski Goal 43'
Jeleń Goal 51'
M. Lewandowski Goal 63'
Saganowski Goal 88'		 Report
2009-09-05
20:30 UTC+2
 Poland  1 – 1  Northern Ireland Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Manuel Mejuto González (Spain)
M. Lewandowski Goal 80' Report Lafferty Goal 38'
2009-09-09
 Slovenia  3 – 0  Poland Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor
Attendance: Attendance: 10,226
Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Dedič Goal 13'
Novakovič Goal 44'
Birsa Goal 62'		 Report
2009-10-10
 Czech Republic  2 – 0  Poland Generali Arena, Prague
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark)
Necid Goal 51'
Plasil Goal 72'		 Report
2009-10-14
 Poland  0 – 1  Slovakia Stadion Śląski, Chorzów
Referee: Jonas Erikkson(Sweden)
Report Gancarczyk Goal 03' (o.g.)

2012 Euro Cup

Main article: 2012 UEFA European Football Championship

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 will be 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.

Notable Wins

Date Opponent Result Type of Match
8/27/39  Hungary 4-2 Friendly
6/15/74  Argentina 3-2 1974 FIFA World Cup
6/19/74  Italy 2-1 1974 FIFA World Cup
6/26/74  Sweden 1-0 1974 FIFA World Cup
7/6/74  Brazil 1-0 1974 FIFA World Cup
10/9/75  Netherlands 4-1 Euro 1976 qualifying
11/12/80  Spain 2-1 Friendly
10/28/81  Argentina 2-1 Friendly
6/28/82  Belgium 3-0 1982 FIFA World Cup
7/10/82  France 3-2 1982 FIFA World Cup
11/6/85  Italy 1-0 Friendly
6/14/02  United States 3-1 2002 FIFA World Cup
10/11/06  Portugal 2-1 Euro 2008 qualifying

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Italy 1934 Withdrew during Qualifying - - - - - -
France 1938 Round 1 (11th place) 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 3rd place 7 6 0 1 16 5
Argentina 1978 5th place 6 3 1 2 6 6
Spain 1982 3rd place 7 3 3 1 11 5
Mexico 1986 Round 2 (14th place) 4 1 1 2 1 7
Italy 1990 Did not qualify - - - - - -
United States 1994 Did not qualify - - - - - -
France 1998 Did not qualify - - - - - -
South KoreaJapan 2002 Round 1 (25th place) 3 1 0 2 3 7
Germany 2006 Round 1 (21st place) 3 1 0 2 2 4
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Brazil 2014 - - - - - - -
Total 7/18 31 15 5 11 44 40

European Championship record

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Spain 1964 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Italy 1968 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Belgium 1972 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Yugoslavia 1976 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Italy 1980 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
France 1984 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
West Germany 1988 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Sweden 1992 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
England 1996 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
BelgiumNetherlands 2000 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Portugal 2004 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
AustriaSwitzerland 2008 Round 1 (14th place) 3 0 1 2 1 3
PolandUkraine 2012 Host - - - - - -
Total 1/13 3 0 1 2 1 4
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament will be held on home soil.

Achievements

Biggest Success of the Polish national team.

  • Third Place (2): 1974, 1982
  • Gold medal (1) 1972 Olympics 1972
  • Silver Medal (2) 1976, 1992 Olympics 1976, 1992[1]
  • Third Place (1): 1983
  • Winner (1): 2001
  • Runner-up (1): 1981
  • Third Place (1): 1984
  • Winner (1): 1993
  • Runner-up (1): 1999
  • Third Place (1): 1990

Team Names

According to the official FIFA Trigramme the team’s name is abbreviated as POL. This acronym is used to identify the team in FIFA, UEFA, and other matches. The same acronym 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 and reds" and "Białe Orły" which translates into "The White Eagles". These are the most common names given to the Polish national football team.

Stadium

Silesian Stadium
Model of the National Stadium in Warsaw

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, Kielce, Kraków, Warsaw, and Wrocław.

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 around 52,719.

A new National Stadium is under construction in Warsaw with an expected capacity of 55,000 seats. Following Euro 2012, this stadium will be used as the venue for most key matches of the Polish national team. It has not been ruled out that hosting duties may, to some extent, continue to be shared with other cities.

Upcoming matches

Date Location Opponent Type Score
June 6, 2009 Johannesburg, South Africa  South Africa Friendly 0-1 L
June 9, 2009 Cape Town, South Africa  Iraq Friendly 1-1 D
August 12, 2009 Bydgoszcz, Poland  Greece Friendly 2-0 W
September 5, 2009 Chorzów, Poland  Northern Ireland 2010 World Cup Qualifiers 1-1 D
September 9, 2009 Maribor, Slovenia  Slovenia 2010 World Cup Qualifiers 0-3 L
October 10, 2009 Prague, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 2010 World Cup Qualifiers 0-2 L
October 14, 2009 Chorzów, Poland  Slovakia 2010 World Cup Qualifiers 0-1 L
November 14, 2009 Warsaw, Poland  Romania[2] Friendly 0-1 L
November 18, 2009 Bydgoszcz, Poland  Canada[3] Friendly

Current squad

Caps and goals correct as of October 14, 2009.

Franciszek Smuda announced the following squad for the friendly matches against the Romania and Canada:[4]

Goalkeepers
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Tomasz Kuszczak March 20, 1982 (1982-03-20) (age 27) 7 0 England Manchester United
GK Wojciech Szczęsny August 18, 1990 (1990-08-18) (age 19) 0 0 England Arsenal
Defenders
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
17 DF Piotr Brożek April 21, 1983 (1983-04-21) (age 26) 2 0 Poland Wisła Kraków
3 DF Seweryn Gancarczyk October 11, 1981 (1981-10-11) (age 28) 6 0 Poland Lech Poznań
DF Kamil Glik February 3, 1988 (1988-02-03) (age 21) 0 0 Poland Piast Gliwice
4 DF Adam Kokoszka October 6, 1986 (1986-10-06) (age 23) 10 2 Italy Empoli
19 DF Marcin Kowalczyk August 9, 1985 (1985-08-09) (age 24) 4 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow
DF Jakub Rzeźniczak October 26, 1986 (1986-10-26) (age 23) 3 0 Poland Legia Warszawa
2 DF Maciej Sadlok June 29, 1989 (1989-06-29) (age 20) 1 0 Poland Ruch Chorzów
14 DF Michał Żewłakow April 22, 1976 (1976-04-22) (age 33) 92 0 Greece Olympiacos
Midfielders
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
16 MF Jakub Błaszczykowski December 14, 1985 (1985-12-14) (age 23) 27 2 Germany Borussia Dortmund
5 MF Dariusz Dudka December 9, 1983 (1983-12-09) (age 25) 42 2 France Auxerre
MF Janusz Gancarczyk June 19, 1984 (1984-06-19) (age 25) 0 0 Poland Śląsk Wrocław
6 MF Roger Guerreiro May 25, 1982 (1982-05-25) (age 27) 22 4 Greece AEK Athens
18 MF Kamil Kosowski August 30, 1977 (1977-08-30) (age 32) 51 4 Cyprus APOEL
MF Radosław Majewski December 15, 1986 (1986-12-15) (age 22) 5 0 England Nottingham Forest F.C.
10 MF Ludovic Obraniak November 10, 1984 (1984-11-10) (age 25) 6 2 France Lille OSC
15 MF Sławomir Peszko February 19, 1985 (1985-02-19) (age 24) 6 0 Poland Lech Poznań
9 MF Maciej Rybus August 19, 1989 (1989-08-19) (age 20) 1 0 Poland Legia Warszawa
Strikers
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
11 FW Ireneusz Jeleń April 9, 1982 (1982-04-09) (age 27) 24 4 France Auxerre
8 FW Robert Lewandowski August 21, 1988 (1988-08-21) (age 21) 15 3 Poland Lech Poznań
23 FW Patryk Małecki August 1, 1988 (1988-08-01) (age 21) 1 0 Poland Wisła Kraków

Other recent callups

The following players have also appeared for the Polish NT in the last year. ★ denotes reserve for upcoming match. Cruz Roja.svg denotes injury.

Goalkeepers
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
GK Artur Boruc Cruz Roja.svg February 20, 1980 (1980-02-20) (age 29) 43 0 Scotland Celtic
GK Jerzy Dudek March 23, 1973 (1973-03-23) (age 36) 59 0 Spain Real Madrid
21 GK Łukasz Fabiański Cruz Roja.svg April 18, 1985 (1985-04-18) (age 24) 14 0 England Arsenal
GK Wojciech Kowalewski May 11, 1977 (1977-05-11) (age 32) 11 0 Greece Iraklis
GK Sebastian Przyrowski Cruz Roja.svg November 30, 1981 (1981-11-30) (age 27) 7 0 Poland Polonia Warszawa
GK Łukasz Załuska June 16, 1982 (1982-06-16) (age 27) 1 0 Scotland Celtic
Defenders
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
DF Jarosław Bieniuk June 4, 1979 (1979-06-04) (age 30) 8 1 Poland Widzew Łódź
2 DF Bartosz Bosacki December 20, 1975 (1975-12-20) (age 33) 19 2 Poland Lech Poznań
DF Arkadiusz Głowacki Cruz Roja.svg March 13, 1979 (1979-03-13) (age 30) 21 0 Poland Wisła Kraków
3 DF Paweł Golański October 12, 1982 (1982-10-12) (age 27) 14 1 Romania Steaua
DF Tomasz Jodłowiec Cruz Roja.svg March 22, 1985 (1985-03-22) (age 24) 5 0 Poland Polonia Warszawa
DF Marcin Komorowski April 17, 1984 (1984-04-17) (age 25) 4 0 Poland Legia Warszawa
DF Mariusz Pawelec April 14, 1986 (1986-04-14) (age 23) 2 0 Poland Śląsk Wrocław
DF Michał Pazdan September 21, 1987 (1987-09-21) (age 22) 5 0 Poland Górnik Zabrze
DF Piotr Polczak August 25, 1986 (1986-08-25) (age 23) 5 0 Poland Cracovia Kraków
DF Marcin Wasilewski Cruz Roja.svg June 9, 1980 (1980-06-09) (age 29) 38 1 Belgium Anderlecht
DF Jakub Wawrzyniak July 7, 1983 (1983-07-07) (age 26) 16 0 Poland Legia Warszawa
DF Grzegorz Wojtkowiak January 26, 1984 (1984-01-26) (age 25) 2 0 Poland Lech Poznań
Midfielders
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
MF Tomasz Bandrowski September 18, 1984 (1984-09-18) (age 25) 3 0 Poland Lech Poznań
MF Rafał Boguski June 9, 1984 (1984-06-09) (age 25) 6 3 Poland Wisła Kraków
MF Łukasz Garguła February 25, 1981 (1981-02-25) (age 28) 16 1 Poland Wisła Kraków
MF Maciej Iwański May 7, 1981 (1981-05-07) (age 28) 4 1 Poland Legia Warszawa
MF Grzegorz Krychowiak January 29, 1990 (1990-01-29) (age 19) 1 0 France Girondins Bordeaux
8 MF Jacek Krzynówek May 15, 1976 (1976-05-15) (age 33) 96 15 Germany Hannover 96
18 MF Mariusz Lewandowski May 18, 1979 (1979-05-18) (age 30) 64 6 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
17 MF Wojciech Łobodziński October 20, 1982 (1982-10-20) (age 27) 22 2 Poland Wisła Kraków
10 MF Rafał Murawski Cruz Roja.svg October 9, 1981 (1981-10-09) (age 28) 21 1 Russia Rubin Kazan
MF Szymon Pawłowski November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) (age 23) 4 0 Poland Zagłębie Lubin
MF Łukasz Piszczek June 3, 1985 (1985-06-03) (age 24) 6 0 Germany Hertha Berlin
7 MF Euzebiusz Smolarek January 19, 1981 (1981-01-19) (age 28) 43 19 Poland Free Agent
MF Łukasz Trałka May 11, 1984 (1984-05-11) (age 25) 5 0 Poland Polonia Warszawa
MF Jakub Wilk July 11, 1985 (1985-07-11) (age 24) 3 0 Poland Lech Poznań
Strikers
No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
FW Paweł Brożek April 21, 1983 (1983-04-21) (age 26) 20 3 Poland Wisła Kraków
FW Kamil Grosicki June 8, 1988 (1988-06-08) (age 21) 3 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok
FW Dawid Janczyk September 23, 1987 (1987-09-23) (age 22) 5 0 Belgium Lokeren
FW Dawid Nowak November 30, 1984 (1984-11-30) (age 24) 1 0 Poland Bełchatów
FW Grzegorz Rasiak January 12, 1979 (1979-01-12) (age 30) 37 8 England Reading
FW Marek Saganowski October 31, 1978 (1978-10-31) (age 31) 33 5 England Southampton

Managers

POLAND NATIONAL TEAM MANAGERS SINCE 1922 FROM TO
Józef Lustgarten, Adam Obrubański and Stanisław Ziemiański 1922-05-14 1922-09-03
Kazimierz Glabisz, Adam Obrubański and Tadeusz Kuchar 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, Czesław Krug and Karol Bergtal 1947-09-14 1947-10-26
Zygmunt Alfus 1948-04-04 1948-09-19
Andrzej Przeworski, Czesław Krug and Jan Nowak 1948-10-10 1948-10-17
Mieczysław Szymkowiak, Ignacy Izdebski, Stefan Kisieliński,
Czesław Krug and Kazimierz Śmiglak		 1949-05-08 1949-11-06
Mieczysław Szymkowiak, Mieczysław Kaczanowski and Stanisław Szymaniak 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, Kazimierz Górski and Klemens Nowak 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 2009-09-10 2009-10-29
Franciszek Smuda 2009-10-29 —

Player Records

Most capped players

As of September 5, 2009 the players with the most caps for Poland are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1. Grzegorz Lato 1971 - 1984 100 45
2. Kazimierz Deyna 1968 - 1978 97 41
3. Jacek Krzynówek 1998 - 95 15
4. Jacek Bąk 1993 - 2008 96 3
5. Władysław Żmuda 1973 - 1986 91 1
6. Michał Żewłakow 1999 - present 90 3
7. Antoni Szymanowski 1970 - 1980 82 1
8. Zbigniew Boniek 1976 - 1988 80 24
9. Włodzimierz Lubański 1963 - 1980 75 48
10. Tomasz Wałdoch 1991 - 2002 74 2
  • Bold - still active

Top goalscorers

As of September 5, 2009 the ten players with the most goals for Poland are:

# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1. Włodzimierz Lubański 1963 - 1980 48 (75)
2. Grzegorz Lato 1971 - 1984 45 (100)
3. Kazimierz Deyna 1968 - 1978 41 (97)
4. Ernest Pol 1955 - 1965 39 (46)
5. Andrzej Szarmach 1973 - 1982 32 (61)
6. Gerard Cieślik 1947 - 1958 27 (45)
7. Zbigniew Boniek 1976 - 1988 24 (80)
8. Ernest Wilimowski 1934 - 1939 21 (22)
9. Dariusz Dziekanowski 1981 - 1990 20 (63)
10. Roman Kosecki 1988 - 1995 19 (69)
=. Euzebiusz Smolarek 2002 - 19 (42)
  • Bold - still active

Notable Players

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

National kits

The national kits of Poland go along with the color of the national flag which is white and red. The home jersey consists of a white shirt, red shorts and white socks with the national coat of arms of Poland the white eagle. Their away kit colours are red throughout. The current alternative third kit consists of a blue shirt, blue shorts, and white socks which the team started wearing before the 2006 World Cup. The current kits are provided by Nike.

Match Statistics

Competition Record

Tournament Wins Draws Losses Total Win %
World Cup 15 5 11 31 48%
World Cup Qualifying 49 15 28 92 53%
Euro Cup 0 1 2 3 0%
Euro Cup Qualifying 38 23 29 90 42%
Friendly 203 126 156 484 42%
Total 305 165 226 696 44%

Poland versus other countries

Against Wins Draws Losses Total Win %
 Albania 7 3 1 11 64%
 Algeria 2 0 0 2 100%
 Argentina 2 2 6 10 20%
 Armenia 3 1 1 5 60%
 Austria 4 1 3 8 50%
 Azerbaijan 5 1 0 6 83%
 Belarus 1 2 2 5 20%
 Belgium 6 6 7 19 32%
 Bolivia 2 0 0 2 100%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 0 0 1 100%
 Brazil 1 2 9 12 8%
 Bulgaria 11 8 5 24 46%
 Cameroon 0 2 0 2 0%
 Canada 5 0 0 5 100%
 China PR 2 0 0 2 100%
 Colombia 2 0 3 5 40%
 Costa Rica 3 0 0 3 100%
 Croatia 1 1 2 4 25%
 Cyprus 4 3 0 7 57%
 Czech Republic 3 0 1 4 75%
 Czechoslovakia 4 5 10 19 21%
 Denmark 6 2 10 18 33%
 East Germany 10 4 5 19 53%
 Ecuador 1 0 1 2 50%
 England 1 6 10 17 6%
 Estonia 6 1 0 7 86%
 Faroe Islands 3 0 0 3 100%
 Finland 20 7 3 30 67%
 France 2 5 7 14 14%
 Macedonia 1 1 0 2 50%
 Georgia 1 0 1 2 50%
 Germany 0 4 12 16 0%
 Ghana 1 0 0 1 100%
 Greece 10 1 3 14 71%
 Guatemala 1 1 0 2 50%
 Haiti 2 0 1 3 67%
 Hungary 6 4 20 30 20%
 Iceland 4 1 0 5 80%
 India 1 0 0 1 100%
 Iran 3 0 0 3 100%
 Iraq 2 2 1 5 40%
 Republic of Ireland 10 8 5 23 44%
 Israel 4 4 2 10 40%
 Italy 3 6 4 13 23%
 Japan 4 0 2 6 67%
 Kazakhstan 3 0 0 3 100%
 Korea DPR 1 1 0 2 50%
 Kuwait 1 1 0 2 50%
 Latvia 7 2 2 11 64%
 Libya 1 0 0 1 100%
 Lithuania 3 2 1 6 50%
 Luxembourg 6 1 0 7 86%
 Malta 4 0 0 4 100%
 Morocco 2 2 1 5 40%
 Mexico 3 1 2 6 50%
 Moldova 2 0 0 2 100%
 Netherlands 3 6 5 14 21%
 New Zealand 1 1 0 2 50%
 Northern Ireland 3 1 3 7 43%
 Norway 10 3 4 17 59%
 Peru 3 0 0 3 100%
 Portugal 3 2 4 9 33%
 Romania 4 15 13 32 13%
 Russia 1 1 1 3 33%
 San Marino 6 0 0 6 100%
 Saudi Arabia 3 0 0 3 100%
 Scotland 3 3 1 7 43%
 Serbia 3 2 0 5 60%
 Slovakia 2 1 1 4 50%
 Slovenia 1 1 0 2 50%
 South Africa 0 0 1 1 0%
 Spain 1 1 7 9 11%
 Sweden 8 4 12 24 33%
 Switzerland 4 4 1 9 44%
 Tunisia 3 0 1 4 75%
 Turkey 11 3 3 17 65%
 Ukraine 2 1 1 4 50%
 United Arab Emirates 2 0 0 2 100%
 Uruguay 1 1 0 2 50%
 United States 7 2 7 16 44%
 USSR 3 3 8 14 21%
 Wales 4 2 1 7 57%
 Yugoslavia 6 4 9 19 32%
Total 305 165 226 696 44%

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Since 1992, squads for Football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the international team.
  2. ^ http://www.90minut.pl/news/106/news1067163-Polska---Rumunia-w-Warszawie.html
  3. ^ http://www.90minut.pl/news/106/news1067320-18-listopada-Polska-zagra-z-Kanada.html
  4. ^ [1]

See also

External links

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1978 FIFA World Cup finalists
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Austria · Czech Republic · France · Greece · Poland · Romania · Sweden · Switzerland

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