Iran Press/ Europe: You probably might be wondering if Poland’s national team is good at football. Well, soccer is the most popular sport in the country and is followed by millions of people. The love of the game has inspired many Polish citizens to pursue football as a profession. Some of them have even represented Poland’s national football team.
Past glories
Nicknamed Bialo-Czerwoni (The White and Reds), Poland has produced a few footballers who have left their names in the sport. They include their captain and all-time scorer, Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczęsny.
Polish soccer suffered a setback during World War II that led to the massacre of some of its footballers. As a result, the national team was dissolved in 1939.
After the end of the war, the Bialo-Czerwoni returned to international football in June 1946.
Golden generation
Like many national teams, Poland has had different generations, including the golden era of 1974 to 1986. Managed by the legendary Kazimierz Gorski, the team beat England to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. They later swept aside Argentina, Haiti, Italy and Sweden to reach the semi-final, where they lost to Germany.
The Bialo-Czerwoni have played in 8 World Cup tournaments but without success. Their best performance came in 1974 and 1982 when they finished third.
The team also booked a spot in the 2022 World Cup after beating Sweden 2-0 in their playoff tie on Mar. 29 2022. Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski fired them to their ninth tournament. They will be aiming to defy the odds and lift the prestigious title.
European Championship
Poland qualified for their first European Championship in 2008. They also made it to 2012, 2016 and 2020 but have never gone past the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the country will be counting on the current crop of the Poland national football team players as they prepare to compete in the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.
The Bialo-Czerwoni won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games. They later took home silver in 1976 and 1992.
The team currently ranks 28 globally with 1530.62 points as of May 2022 in FIFA rankings. In Europe, they are 16. Their highest-ever ranking was 5 with 1319 points in August 2017, while the lowest was 78 with 473 points in November 2013.
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Roaster
Poland’s national football team is captained by Robert Lewandowski who is arguably their greatest ever player. He is also considered the best striker in the world. The 33-year-old forward also won the 2020 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award for his remarkable achievements for Bayern Munich. In addition, no Polish player scored more goals than Lewandowski (75) for the national team. He is also the most capped player with 129 matches as of May 2022.
Their 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker aside, Poland’s roster consists of plenty of experienced performers who play domestically across Europe. Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski should supply valuable chances for Lewandoski to add to his superb international tally of 74 goals.
Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side claim an illustrious history at the World Cup — having twice finished third — and will be confident of getting out of the group phase, after losing just twice through the entire qualification process.
Goalkeepers
Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham) Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna) Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)
Defenders
Jan Bednarek (Southampton) Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria) Pawel Dawidowicz (Verona) Kamil Glik (Benevento) Michal Helik (Barnsley) Tomasz Kedziora (Lech Poznan) Kamil Piatkowski (RB Salzburg) Tymoteusz Puchacz (Trabzonspor) Maciej Rybus (Lok. Moscow)
Midfielders
Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens) Kamil Jozwiak (Charlotte FC) Mat Klich (Leeds) Kacper Kozlowski (Union St Gilloise) Grzegorz Krychowiak (AEK Athens) Karol Linetty (Torino) Jakub Moder (Brighton) Przemyslaw Placheta (Norwich) Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)
Forwards
Dawid Kownacki (Lech Poznan) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) Arkadiusz Milik (Marseille) Karol Swiderski (Charlotte FC) Jakub Swierczok (Nagoya Grampus)
Head coach
Former Legia Warsaw head coach Czesław Michniewicz is currently the manager of the Bialo-Czerwoni. The Polish Football Association appointed him in January 2022 to replace Paulo Sousa. Poland’s national football team will play Wales, Belgium and the Netherlands in their UEFA Nations League campaign from June 2022. Afterwards, they will head to Qatar for the World Cup tournament.
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World Cup 2022 Group C draw
Lewandowski’s side will have a tricky assignment in their chase for World Cup glory. The team will take on Argentina, Mexico and minors Saudi Arabia in Group C. Facing Lionel Messi’s nation and an inspired Mexico team will indeed be a massive test for them, with only two sides proceeding to knockouts.
Argentina and Poland will both fancy their chances of progression, and they meet on Nov. 30 in the final group game, but it is far from a straightforward pool — with Mexico likely to put up a stiff challenge, having come through North American (CONCACAF) qualifying.
Saudi Arabia — one of the lowest-ranked sides in the tournament — will carry hopes of upsetting the more established powers, but they will have it all to do.
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