How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying?
• Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker led Poland to their first ever UEFA European Championship finals, with nine-goal striker Euzebiusz Smolarek securing their qualification with a game to spare when he struck both goals in a 2-0 home win over Belgium.
• A 3-1 home defeat by Finland in their opening game in Group A – the only section to contain eight teams, rather than seven – was a shock and when a 1-1 draw against Serbia followed, things looked grim.
• They found the perfect response, however, by embarking on six-game winning run that included a 2-1 victory over Portugal, Smolarek registering twice.
• A 1-0 defeat in Armenia threw a spanner in the works, but Poland recovered. A late Jacek Krzynówek goal earned them a 2-2 draw in Portugal and after taking another point in Finland, they completed the job with wins against Kazakhstan and Belgium.
• The Poles secured first place in Group A by holding Serbia to a 2-2 draw in their final qualifier in Belgrade – a result that ended their hosts' hopes of qualifying.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Two defeats against England denied Poland top spot in their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round group, but they advanced as one of the strongest runners-up having won the remainder of their ten engagements.
• Poland recorded home and away victories against Austria, Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Wales in finishing second to England. Their most notable win was their 8-0 home defeat of the Azeris on 26 March 2005 with Tomasz Frankowski (12, 63 and 66) scoring a hat-trick.
• Their first 2-1 defeat against England came at home in their second outing in the competition on 8 September 2004 in Chorzow.
• By the time the two sides met in their final match, they were both guaranteed a place in the finals. A Polish draw at Old Trafford would have given them group honours after England had lost away to Northern Ireland, but the home side prevailed 2-1.
• Poland were eliminated at the first stage of the finals following 2-0 and 1-0 defeats in group games against Ecuador and Germany respectively before a 2-1 triumph against Costa Rica.
• Finishing third in their section, Poland's only goals in Germany were scored by Bartosz Bosacki in their final game.
How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Although they had appeared at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, Poland again struggled in their subsequent UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, finishing third in their group behind Portugal-bound Sweden and Latvia. The Swedes topped the five-team group with 17 points from their eight matches, one point ahead of Latvia and four clear of Poland. • The Poles recorded four wins and a draw from their eight matches to end two points clear of Hungary. San Marino propped up the standings with no goals scored and no points to show from their campaign.
• Their home form proved to be their undoing as they lost at home to Latvia (0-1) and Sweden (0-2) as well being held to a scoreless draw by Hungary. All of their goals on home soil came in their 5-0 defeat of San Marino in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski with Marcin Kuzba (54, 90+3) scoring twice.
• Poland won their final two games away against Latvia (2-0) and Hungary (2-1), but by then it was too late to salvage at least a second-placed finish.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Prior to securing their first qualification this time around, Poland's best campaign saw them come close to qualifying for the 1980 UEFA European Championship final round in Italy, finishing one point behind the Netherlands in their qualifying round group.
Key facts
• The number 13 proved to be a luck one for Poland as they secured their first UEFA European Championship final round appearance at the 13th attempt in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™.
All-time record
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Poland had appeared in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions, and had played 90 matches. In that time, they had won 38, drawn 24 and lost 28 of those fixtures with 131 goals scored and 100 conceded.
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