Poland 0-1 Croatia

Ivan Klasnic fired the game's only goal for Croatia as Poland's unlikely bid to reach the last eight ended in failure.

Needing to beat Croatia by at least two goals, and for Germany to lose to Austria, only a string of Artur Boruc saves kept Poland's losing margin down.

Danijel Pranjic, Ivan Rakitic and Klasnic had all been denied before the latter lashed in the winner left-footed from 12 yards early in the second half.

Ebi Smolarek wasted late Poland chances but Group B winners Croatia held firm.

Slaven Bilic's team will be full of confidence ahead of their quarter-final against Turkey on Friday after a side boasting nine changes to the one that beat Germany last time out maintained their 100% record in the 2008 tournament.

And the story of the match was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Klasnic only underwent a kidney transplant last year, having suffered kidney failure in January 2007 - and his emotional celebrations told a story all on their own.

Poland came into the match still feeling aggrieved at English referee Howard Webb's decision to award Austria a penalty in injury time in the previous group match to deny them victory.

First Wojciech Lobodzinski forced a hurried save from Croatia keeper Vedran Runje with a fine, whipped cross and then Dariusz Dudka headed inches wide of the goal from Jacek Krzynowek's corner.

But with Smolarek, their leading goalscorer in qualifying, left on the bench, Poland lacked any penetration and when Croatia settled into their stride, it was left to Boruc to keep the Poles in the game single-handedly.

Even having made so many changes, Croatia showed glimpses of their class, and Hrvoje Vejic was unlucky not direct his header home on 20 minutes from Ivan Rakitic's cross.

Thereafter, it was the Boruc show, Klasnic twice denied by the big Celtic keeper after dashing through a static Polish back line, and Rakitic and Pranjic both seeing firm drives beaten away in the closing stages of the first half.

Minutes after the restart, news filtered through from Vienna that Michael Ballack had put Germany ahead against Austria, effectively ending Poland hopes of qualification.

And, almost as if the news had finally broken their resistance, Poland found themselves behind just seconds later, Klasnic latching on to Pranjic's cut-back and lashing into the far corner left-footed.

Poland raced up the other end, Rafal Murawski sending a drive wide of the upright from 20 yards, but in truth their challenge was done and dusted.

To their credit, Leo Beenhakker's side plugged away and, after Smolarek had been introduced, Roger Guerreiro nearly levelled when he turned in the box and drilled wide.

Southampton striker Marek Saganowski also forced a save from Runje with a firm header, but Croatia always looked relatively comfortable - their main concern being to get through the game without injury.

With that in mind, match-winner Klasnic was removed from the action 16 minutes from time, allowing the last member of Croatia's squad not to have tasted Euro 2008 action - Nikola Kalinic - a piece of the action.

There was still time for Smolarek to twice drill decent efforts narrowly wide of the target and Thomasz Zahorski to waste Poland's best chance of the night - denied by Runje after sprinting clear of the Croatia defence.

But the Croats played out the last few minutes comfortably to extend their recent record to just two competitive defeats in four years and underline their potential as one of the tournament's dark horses for the title.



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Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Dudka, Wawrzyniak, Lobodzinski (Smolarek 55), Murawski, Roger, Lewandowski (Kokoszka 46), Krzynowek, Saganowski (Zahorski 69).
Subs Not Used: Kowalewski, Fabianski, Jop, Golanski, Bak, Gargula, Pazdan.

Booked: Lewandowski, Zahorski.

Croatia: Runje, Simic, Vejic, Knezevic (Corluka 26), Pranjic, Leko, Vukojevic, Pokrivac, Rakitic, Klasnic (Kalinic 74), Petric (Kranjcar 75).
Subs Not Used: Pletikosa, Galinovic, Simunic, Robert Kovac, Nico Kovac, Srna, Modric, Olic, Budan.

Booked: Vejic, Vukojevic.

Goals: Klasnic 52.

Att: 30,000

Ref: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).

man of the match: Poland's Artur Boruc 8.65 (on 90 minutes).

Austria 1-1 Poland

Co-hosts Austria were given a Euro 2008 lifeline when Ivica Vastic scored a stoppage-time penalty against Poland.

English referee Howard Webb ruled that Mariusz Lewandowski hauled down Sebastian Proedl and substitute Vastic slammed the penalty past Artur Boruc.

Boruc had earlier made a string of stunning saves to deny Poland, with Martin Harnik wasting two fine chances.

Poland's goal came when Roger Guerreiro converted a first-half cross from an offside position three yards out.

It was a dramatic end in Vienna and both sides' chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals remain slim, though Vastic's goal does send Croatia through to the last eight.

Austria probably deserved a point for their dominance in the first half an hour, but until Webb pointed to the spot two minutes into injury time it looked as though their chance had gone.


In truth, the game should have already been dead and buried in the Austrians' favour.

The home side made a sensational start to the game and they could - and should - have been 3-0 up with only 15 minutes on the clock.

First Harnik took advantage of Mariusz Jop's hesitancy to surge through on goal only to see Boruc deflect his shot inches wide of the target.

Moments later, Unit Korkmaz used his explosive pace to waltz past two men down the left and cross for Harnik, eight yards out, to shoot straight at Boruc.

When Poland's flimsy offside trap was breached once more for Christoph Leitgeb to run in unchallenged on goal it seemed as though Austria had to score, but again the heroic Boruc spread himself and the shot cannoned into his midriff.


Roger's first-half goal was not enough to earn Poland victory

Having been so profligate, Austria were punished in devastating fashion by the Poles on the half-hour mark.

Ebi Smolarek crossed to the far side of the penalty box from the left wing, Marek Saganowski turned inside Emanuel Pogatetz and his cross-shot was poked home by Roger from close range.

It was doubly harsh on the Austrians because Roger was clearly standing in an offside position when the ball left Southampton striker Saganowski's foot.

Poland took Jop off at half-time and within seconds of the restart his replacement Pawel Golanski was a little lucky not to concede a penalty, as the defender's hands were all over Andreas Ivanschitz with the Austrian captain moving in on goal.

But the Poles had largely sorted out their defensive problems from the first half and were enjoying more possession, with the skilful Roger central to their attacking ambitions.

He floated over a cross from the right that Jacek Bak chested down and fired in, Jurgen Macho making an impressive save with his right leg to keep Austria in it.

Macho produced more heroics when he arched his back to tip over Jacek Krzynowek's sizzling 35-yard left-foot free-kick but the co-hosts, weary and still reeling from Roger's sucker-punch, were hanging on.

But with the clock running down and Austria's chances hanging by a thread, Webb stunned the Poles by pointing to the spot and 38-year-old Vastic rifled in to become the oldest scorer in European Championship history.



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Austria: Macho, Garics, Prodl, Stranzl, Pogatetz, Leitgeb, Aufhauser (Saumel 74), Ivanschitz (Vastic 64), Korkmaz, Harnik, Linz (Kienast 64).
Subs Not Used: Manninger, Ozcan, Standfest, Fuchs, Gercaliu, Katzer, Patocka, Hiden, Hoffer.

Booked: Korkmaz, Prodl.

Goals: Vastic 90 pen.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Jop (Golanski 46), Bak, Zewlakow, Dudka, Lewandowski, Krzynowek, Roger (Murawski 85), Saganowski (Lobodzinski 83), Smolarek.
Subs Not Used: Kowalewski, Fabianski, Wawrzyniak, Gargula, Pazdan, Zahorski, Kokoszka.

Booked: Wasilewski, Krzynowek, Bak.

Goals: Roger 30.

Att: 51,428.

Ref: Howard Webb (England).



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Rater man of the match: Poland's Artur Boruc on 8.99 (on 90 minutes).

Germany 2-0 Poland

Lukas Podolski's double ensured Germany made a winning start to their Euro 2008 campaign against Poland in Klagenfurt.

Polish-born Podolski put Germany on the path to a deserved victory when he slid home Miroslav Klose's pass from close range after 20 minutes.

Germany were dominant, with Poland keeper Artur Boruc saving brilliantly from Germany captain Michael Ballack.

And Podolski added his second with a powerful rising volley that left Boruc helpless with 18 minutes left.

It was Germany's first victory in the tournament since they beat the Czech Republic to win Euro 96 at Wembley.

And their performance at the Worthersee Stadion, in the first 45 minutes in particular, suggested that Joachim Low's side are in the mood to make amends for previous disappointments this time around.

Germany wasted a glorious opportunity to go ahead after only four minutes when Klose broke in behind a flat-footed Poland rearguard and ran on to Ballack's pass.

He had only Boruc to beat, but decided instead to try to find the unmarked Mario Gomez, who was surprised by the pass and slid his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.

But Klose's unselfishness brought greater reward after 20 minutes when he escaped the attentions of Poland's defence again and squared for Podolski, who had the simplest of tasks to give Germany a lead they fully merited.

Germany were threatening to take full advantage of Poland's lack of organisation at the back, but were almost hit by a sucker punch when Wojciech Lobodzinsi played in former Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski, but he pulled his shot wide when well placed.



Germany's Ballack relieved after opening win
It was one of the few attacking threats posed by Poland, but normal service was quickly resumed and Germany should have doubled their lead eight minutes before the interval.

Clemens Fritz created the opening on the right flank, but Gomez's finish was poor and his effort rolled tamely across the face of goal.

Poland, as they had to, showed a greater sense of urgency after the break and were spurred by the arrival of Brazilian-born substitute Roger Guerreiro, who was on for the ineffective Zurawski.

He forced his way into a dangerous position after 58 minutes and it needed a timely intervention from Per Mertesacker to clear his cross.

Germany had gone off the boil in the second half, but substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger brought Boruc into action with a low drive from 25 yards which the Celtic keeper held safely.

And Boruc saved brilliantly from Ballack after 69 minutes, turning over acrobatically from the Germany captain's rising drive at the end of a long passage of possession.

There was no reprieve for Poland, however, three minutes later when Podolski added his second, helped by a large slice of good fortune.

Klose miscued badly from Schweinsteiger's pass, but the ball fell invitingly for Podolski, who volleyed high past Boruc to seal the German victory.

Guerrero almost threw Poland a lifeline with seven minutes left, when his excellent cross found Southampton's Marek Saganowski, but his near post effort was blocked by German keeper Jens Lehmann.

But it was a rare moment of discomfort for Germany, who made a typically efficient and impressive start to Euro 2008.



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Germany: Lehmann, Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Jansen, Fritz (Schweinsteiger 55), Frings, Ballack, Podolski, Gomez (Hitzlsperger 75), Klose (Kuranyi 90).
Subs Not Used: Enke, Friedrich, Westermann, Rolfes, Odonkor, Trochowski, Borowski, Neuville, Adler.

Booked: Schweinsteiger.

Goals: Podolski 20, 72.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Bak, Golanski (Saganowski 75), Dudka, Lewandowski, Lobodzinski (Piszczek 65), Zurawski (Roger 46), Krzynowek, Smolarek.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Jop, Wawrzyniak, Zahorski, Kokoszka, Pazdan, Gargula, Murawski.

Booked: Smolarek, Lewandowski.

Att: 30,000

Ref: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).


Rater man of the match: Germany's Lukas Podolski 8.51 (on 90 minutes).



TRIVIA
Poland played their first ever match at a European Championship, whilst Germany featured in a record 33rd fixture in the competition.

Lukas Podolski scored his 26th and 27th international goals in 49 international matches, netting twice against the nation where he was born. Podolski is the first German to score a brace in a European Championship match since Oliver Bierhoff scored two in the final of Euro 96.

Germany remained undefeated against their eastern neighbours adding their 12th win to four draws in their 16th run-in with Poland. It was Germany's first victory in this competition since defeating Czech Republic 2-1 in the final of Euro 96 on 30 June 1996. They ended a six match victory drought, their longest in the history of the competition.

Poland coach Leo Beenhakker is still waiting for his first victory as a head coach in a major championship. Four matches with Holland (1990 Fifa World Cup), three with Trinidad and Tobago (2006 Fifa World Cup) and this match with Poland have not produced a victory.

Germany v Poland

Germany v Poland



UEFA EURO 2008 GROUP B

Date: Sun 8 June Kick-off: 1945 BST Venue: Worthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt


Germany have to choose who will lead their attack, with Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski likely to fight it out for the right to partner Mario Gomez.

However, Germany coach Joachim Loew could decide to switch Podolski to the left-hand side of midfield.

Loew is keeping his cards close to his chest but goalkeeping coach Andreas Koepke said many places are still open.

Poland pair Jakub Blaszczykowski and keeper Tomasz Kuszczak are already ruled out of the tournament.

The Poles lost the pair before a ball was even kicked in anger.

Goalkeeper Kuszczak was ruled out with a back injury on Friday and replaced by Wojciech Kowalewski.

And winger Blaszczykowski suffered a hamstring strain that forced him to withdraw from the squad.

Germany have no injury concerns in their 23-man squad.

"All our players are healthy," said Koepke. "The final decision will come after tonight's practice in Klagenfurt.

Germany go into the game without a victory in the Euros since they won the final in 1996.

And they are hoping the three Polish-born players in their team, Klose and Podolski, and midfielder Piotr Trochowski, can give them some inside information about their opponents.

"They are the so-called insiders and we may have an advantage because of that," Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick said.



Head-to-heads

Germany and Poland have met on 15 previous occasions. Poland have never beaten Germany and have managed only four draws and 11 defeats.

Their last confrontation occurred on 14 June 2006 at the Fifa World Cup in Germany, when the hosts won 1-0, courtesy of an Oliver Neuville goal in extra time.

The last time Poland avoided defeat against Germany was in the opening match of the 1978 Fifa World Cup (1 June 1978) when they played out a goalless draw.



Team facts - Germany

Won the European Championship a record three times (1972, 1980 and 1996).

They will also be making a record 10th appearance at the European Championship. The Germans have been ever present since their victorious debut in 1972.

European Championship participations by each nation

Also hold the record for European Championship matches played (32) and won (15).

Have not won a European Championship match since triumphant in the final of Euro 96 against the Czech Republic.

They are currently on a six match winless streak in this tournament which is a German record and the joint longest current streak together with Switzerland's.

Been knocked out in the group phase in their last two European Championship appearances. In the history of the competition, no nation has been eliminated in three successive group phases.

Team facts - Poland

Making their debut at the European Championship, having already participated in seven Fifa World Cups. The last nation to win the competition on their debut was (West) Germany in 1972.

Dutchman Leo Beenhakker will be coaching in his third major tournament, having led the Netherlands in the 1990 Fifa World Cup and Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 Fifa World Cup.

At the 1990 World Cup, Beenhakker's reigning European champions Holland were knocked out by West Germany in the second round.

Player facts - Germany

Three players in the German squad (Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Piotr Trochowski) were born in Poland.

Miroslav Klose will celebrate his 30th birthday the day after this match.

Player facts - Poland

With David Healy (Northern Ireland) failing to qualify and Eduardo da Silva (Croatia) missing because of injury, Poland's Ebi Smolarek (nine goals) is the top marksman from qualifying to actually take part in Euro 2008.

Jacek Krzynowek (VfL Wolfsburg) and Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund) play their club football in Germany.

Poland's Marek Saganowski (Southampton) joins Germany's Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach) and Austria's Ramazan Ozcan (Hoffenheim) as the only Euro 2008 players to have played their 2007-08 club football below the top flight.

Fitness regime aids Poland preparation

Fitness regime aids Poland preparation





With their first game of UEFA EURO 2008™ rapidly approaching, Poland's players cannot wait for a taste of the action and will be in prime condition according to their physio, Mike Lindemann.

Fighting fit
Poland's Dutch-born coach Leo Beenhakker has worked all over the world and hopes to give his players the benefit of his experience – and the ideas he has picked up on his travels – as they try to make it out of the group stage of a major tournament for the first time this decade. Helping to make this dream a reality is his countryman Lindemann, who has been charged with getting the players to the right level physically. "We have played all of our friendly games and now need to work on other things," Lindemann told euro2008.com. "A lot of the hard work has been done – we are now focusing on sharpness."

Testing times
Poland play Germany on Sunday in their Group B opener and Lindemann has introduced some specific tests to get the maximum out of the players. "We have two tests. We check the players physically and mentally," he added. "We need to know what the player's body is telling him and the coach. We use a special programme which started with NASA and now teams like AC Milan and FC Barcelona use. We test each player for three-and-a-half minutes – I don't want to give away too much information – but it works well and it helps the medical staff assess a player's fitness."

Anxious to start
According to Lindemann, the system even governs which players can train on a given day. "We have a computer system that tests seven or eight players every morning to see what level they are at. I then go to the coach to tell him which players can attend training. Now we are concentrating on the top 13 or 14 players, the ones who are likely to play in the first game," added Lindemann. Based in the Austrian town of Bad Waltersdorf, Poland played their final warm-up game, against Denmark, last weekend and the Dutch physio says the players are now eager to get out onto the pitch for real. "The team is anxious to start. They have been in the hotel and working on the training ground non-stop for a long time now. They have been busy preparing but now all they want is to get going and play the first game," he added.

Błaszczykowski ruled out of EURO

Błaszczykowski ruled out of EURO



Poland midfielder Jakub Błaszczykowski will miss UEFA EURO 2008™ after aggravating a hamstring injury in training on Thursday.
No chance
"A medical examination and a consequent diagnosis showed it would be impossible for the player to be fit for the group stage," said team spokeswoman Marta Alf. "Therefore a decision was made to request UEFA to approve the replacement of Błaszczykowski with Hertha [BSC] Berlin player Łukasz Piszczek." The 23-year-old Piszczek made his debut in a friendly against Estonia in February and has three caps.

Makeshift defence
Błaszczykowski, who plays for BV Borussia Dortmund, picked up the injury last month and had been sidelined for two weeks. Coach Leo Beenhakker also omitted left-back Grzegorz Bronowicki from his provisional squad last month because of a knee injury and will have to field a makeshift defence in the opening match against Group B rivals Germany in Klagenfurt on Sunday. Poland also play co-hosts Austria in Vienna on 12 June and Croatia in Klagenfurt four days later.

Rules and regulations
According to Article 16.05 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship: "In the event of serious injury to a listed player before his team's first match in the final tournament, the player in question may be substituted only if a doctor from the UEFA Medical Committee and the team doctor concerned both confirm that the injury is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part."

Poles plan tribute for tragic hero

Poles plan tribute for tragic hero




Midfielder Roger Guerreiro says Poland are determined to provide fitting tribute to volleyball heroine Agata Mróz-Olszewska when they launch their finals campaign against Germany.
'Terrible news'
The country's two-time European volleyball champion died tragically yesterday aged 26 after developing an infection following a bone marrow transplant. It came just two months after Mróz-Olszewska gave birth to a healthy girl, and her passing has shocked the whole of Poland – including the footballers. "We were all praying for her and it's very sad news," said midfielder Jakub Błaszczykowski, summing up the mood at the team base in Bad Waltersdorf. No surprise then to hear playmaker Roger demand a suitable mark of respect on Sunday: "This is terrible news, but maybe if we win our first game against Germany, it will be a tribute to her and her family."

Germany respect
Mróz-Olszewska played a key part in a halcyon period for Polish volleyball, and coach Leo Beenhakker knows that for his players to emulate such success on a European scale they will need to overcome tough opposition. "Germany are one of the top five sides in the world, they always play like a team, they are real team players," Beenhakker said of his charges' first Group B rivals. "They have no problem working hard and they can all do the dirty jobs. Every player works on defending and they have a great mentality. People say Germany are lucky because they know how to win a game in the last minute – if you do it once it's luck, but if you do it all the time it is quality.

Weather restraints
"Germany never give up, they always go on, they never lose face. They are always able to do something extra at the end of a game to change things. That is a big quality and I respect that," added the Dutchman, who has also allayed fears of injury to Michał Żewłakow, the defender having been removed from Wednesday's training as a precaution. For now Beenhakker only has to worry about getting some good weather to work with his squad. "The conditions have not been great for training as we have had so much rain," he said. "We had sun on Tuesday and rain on Wednesday. I cannot change the conditions. Some things in life you cannot change – you have to manage them and work with them and that's what we did on Tuesday."

Krzynówek saves Poland's blushes

Krzynówek saves Poland's blushes




Poland came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Denmark at the Slaski Stadium in Chorzow in their final friendly before the start of UEFA EURO 2008™.

Krzynówek strike
Winning just his second cap, Martin Vingaard put Denmark ahead on 28 minutes when he tapped in a rebound from close range after Artur Boruc had saved Nicklas Bendtner's shot, but Leo Beenhakker's side were able to rally shortly before half-time. Despite Maciej Żurawski having a penalty turned away by Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen on 36 minutes, Jacek Krzynówek spared Poland embarrassment by lobbing in the equalising goal three minutes before the interval after Ebi Smolarek's shot had been deflected into his path.

Danish record
For Krzynówek, it was a rare right-footed goal, but the 40,000 fans present to give the hosts a good send-off were simply relieved to see it go in. They were also pleased to witness Poland's four-match losing streak to the Danes come to an end. The most notable of those defeats was surely the 5-1 mauling in Poznan in 2004, although Beenhakker's first match in charge of Poland ended in a 2-0 loss to the same opponents in August 2006.

Uninspired performance
The Dutchman's team are now undefeated in three friendly matches, but there was no escaping the fact this was another uninspired performance following last week's 1-1 draw with F.Y.R. Macedonia and narrow 1-0 win over Albania. Poland kick off their Group B campaign against Germany in Klagenfurt next Sunday.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Jop, Bąk, Wawrzyniak (Golański 46), Zahorski (Lobodzinski 46), Dudka, Lewandowski, Krzynówek (Garguła 78), Smolarek (Saganowski 77), Żurawski (Guerreiro 46).

Denmark: Sørensen, Jacobsen, Christensen, Krøldrup, Jørgensen (Rasmusen 46), Rommedahl, Retov (Kristensen 64), Poulsen (Augustinussen 78), Nordstrand (Perez 46), Vingaard (Kvist 68), Bendtner (Sørensen 90).

Poland ready for first finals

Poland ready for first finals

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.

POLAND - Tournament fixtures

Tournament fixtures




08/06/2008 Poland v Germany 20:45
12/06/2008 Poland v Austria 20:45
16/06/2008 Poland v Croatia 20:45

POLAND

POLAND



Coach: BEENHAKKER

Squad list

Goalkeepers

»Artur Boruc
»Łukasz Fabiański
»Tomasz Kuszczak

Defenders

»Michal Pazdan
»Jacek Bąk
»Grzegorz Bronowicki
»Dariusz Dudka
»Paweł Golański
»Mariusz Jop
»Adam Kokoszka
»Marcin Wasilewski
»Jakub Wawrzyniak
»Michał Żewłakow

Midfielders

»Roger Guerreiro
»Radoslaw Majewski
»Rafał Murawski
»Jakub Błaszczykowski
»Łukasz Garguła
»Jacek Krzynówek
»Mariusz Lewandowski
»Wojciech Łobodziński
»Euzebiusz Smolarek

Forwards

»Radosław Matusiak
»Marek Saganowski
»Tomasz Zahorski
»Maciej Żurawski