Poland at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of Poland's results at the FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for the finals on nine occasions, most recently in 2022. The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.

Polish fans at the 2018 World Cup in Moscow, Russia
Poland - Colombia match at the 2018 World Cup in Kazan, Russia

The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The current format of the Finals involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 tournament final.[1]

In World Cup history, Poland has participated in nine World Cup editions, started with the 1938 World Cup where they lost to Brazil in a 5–6 thriller.[2] It took Poland thirty-six years later to qualify for another World Cup, where they began to stun the world from eliminating former world champions England in 1974 qualification, to finishing third twice, in 1974 and 1982 editions.[3] After participating in 1986, Poland started to decline and lost momentum in global football.

Since the fall of communist rule in Poland at 1989, Poland managed to qualify for 2002, 2006 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, but the team was unable to repeat the feat of the predecessors, went out from the group stage in all three tournaments with two opening losses before gained a consolidating win in the last match.[4] In 2022, Poland, for the first time since 1986, didn't begin the tournament with a defeat, after holding Mexico goalless, and ultimately went on to advance to the knockout stage for the first time in 36 years.

World Cup record

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Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1930 Did not enter
  1934
  1938 Round 1 11th 1 0 0 1 5 6
  1950 Did not enter
  1954
  1958 Did not qualify
  1962
  1966
  1970
  1974 Third place 3rd 7 6 0 1 16 5
  1978 Second group stage 5th 6 3 1 2 6 6
  1982 Third place 3rd 7 3 3 1 11 5
  1986 Round of 16 14th 4 1 1 2 1 7
  1990 Did not qualify
  1994
  1998
    2002 Group stage 25th 3 1 0 2 3 7
  2006 21st 3 1 0 2 2 4
  2010 Did not qualify
  2014
  2018 Group stage 25th 3 1 0 2 2 5
  2022 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 3 5
      2026 To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total Third place 9/25 38 17 6 15 49 50

Match records

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1938 FIFA World Cup

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First round

5 June 1938 Brazil   6–5 (a.e.t.)   Poland   Strasbourg, France
17:30 (WEST) Leônidas   18', 93', 104'
Romeu   25'
Perácio   44', 71'
(4-4,3-1)
Report (FIFA)
Scherfke   23' (pen.)
Wilimowski   53', 59', 89', 118'
Stadium: Stade de la Meinau
Attendance: 13,452
Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)

1974 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Poland 3 3 0 0 12 3 +9 6 Advance to second round
2   Argentina 3 1 1 1 7 5 +2 3
3   Italy 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 3
4   Haiti 3 0 0 3 2 14 −12 0
Source: FIFA
15 June 1974 Poland   3–2   Argentina   Stuttgart, West Germany
18:00 CET Lato   7', 62'
Szarmach   8'
(2-0)
Report (FIFA)
Heredia   60'
Babington   66'
Stadium: Neckarstadion
Attendance: 32,700
Referee: Clive Thomas (Wales)
19 June 1974 Haiti   0–7   Poland   Munich, West Germany
19:30 CET (0-5)
Report (FIFA)
Lato   17', 87'
Deyna   18'
Szarmach   30', 34', 50'
Gorgoń   31'
Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 25,300
Referee: Govindasamy Suppiah (Singapore)
23 June 1974 Poland   2–1   Italy   Stuttgart, West Germany
16:00 CET Szarmach   38'
Deyna   44'
(2-0)
Report
Capello   85' Stadium: Neckarstadion
Attendance: 70,100
Referee: Hans-Joachim Weyland (West Germany)

Second group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   West Germany 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 6 Advance to final
2   Poland 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 4 Advance to third place play-off
3   Sweden 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 2
4   Yugoslavia 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0
Source: FIFA
26 June 1974 Sweden   0–1   Poland   Stuttgart, West Germany
19:30 CET (0-1)
Report (FIFA)
Lato   43' Stadium: Neckarstadion
Attendance: 44,955
Referee: Ramón Barreto (Uruguay)
30 June 1974 Poland   2–1   Yugoslavia   Frankfurt, West Germany
16:00 CET Deyna   24' (pen.)
Lato   62'
(1-1)
Report (FIFA)
Karasi   43' Stadium: Waldstadion
Attendance: 58,000
Referee: Rudi Glöckner (East Germany)
3 July 1974 Poland   0–1   West Germany   Frankfurt, West Germany
16:30 CET (0-0)
Report (FIFA)
Müller   76' Stadium: Waldstadion
Attendance: 62,000
Referee: Erich Linemayr (Austria)

Third place playoff

6 July 1974 Brazil   0–1   Poland   Munich, West Germany
16:00 CET (0-0)
Report(FIFA)
Lato   76' Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 77,100
Referee: Aurelio Angonese (Italy)

1978 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Poland 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 5 Advance to second round
2   West Germany 3 1 2 0 6 0 +6 4
3   Tunisia 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 3
4   Mexico 3 0 0 3 2 12 −10 0
Source: FIFA
6 June 1978 Poland   1–0   Tunisia   Rosario, Argentina
16:45 ART Lato   43' (1-0)
Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Estadio Gigante de Arroyito
Attendance: 9,624
Referee: Ángel Franco Martínez (Spain)
10 June 1978 Poland   3–1   Mexico   Rosario, Argentina
16:45 ART Boniek   43', 84'
Deyna   56'
(1-0)
Report (FIFA)
Rangel   52' Stadium: Estadio Gigante de Arroyito
Attendance: 22,651
Referee: Jafar Namdar (Iran)

Second group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Argentina 3 2 1 0 8 0 +8 5 Advance to final
2   Brazil 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 5 Advance to third place play-off
3   Poland 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 2
4   Peru 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0
Source: FIFA
14 June 1978 Argentina   2–0   Poland   Rosario, Argentina
19:15 ART Kempes   16', 72' (1-0)
Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Estadio Gigante de Arroyito
Attendance: 37,091
Referee: Ulf Eriksson (Sweden)
18 June 1978 Peru   0–1   Poland   Mendoza, Argentina
13:45 ART (0-0)
Report (FIFA)
Szarmach   64' Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza
Attendance: 35,288
Referee: Pat Partridge (England)
21 June 1978 Poland   1–3   Brazil   Mendoza, Argentina
16:45 ART Lato   45' (1-1)
Report (FIFA)
Nelinho   13'
Roberto Dinamite   58', 63'
Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza
Attendance: 39,586
Referee: Juan Silvagno Cavanna (Chile)

1982 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Poland 3 1 2 0 5 1 +4 4 Advance to second round
2   Italy 3 0 3 0 2 2 0 3
3   Cameroon 3 0 3 0 1 1 0 3
4   Peru 3 0 2 1 2 6 −4 2
Source: FIFA
14 June 1982 Italy   0–0   Poland   Vigo, Spain
17:15 CEST Report (FIFA) Stadium: Balaídos
Attendance: 33,040
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)
19 June 1982 Poland   0–0   Cameroon   A Coruña, Spain
17:15 CEST Report (FIFA) Stadium: Estadio de Riazor
Attendance: 19,000
Referee: Alexis Ponnet (Belgium)
22 June 1982 Poland   5–1   Peru   A Coruña, Spain
17:15 CEST Smolarek   55'
Lato   58'
Boniek   61'
Buncol   68'
Ciołek   76'
(0-0)
Report (FIFA)
La Rosa   83' Stadium: Estadio de Riazor
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Mario Rubio Vázquez (Mexico)

Second group stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Poland 2 1 1 0 3 0 +3 3 Advance to knockout stage
2   Soviet Union 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 3
3   Belgium 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0
Source: FIFA
28 June 1982 Poland   3–0   Belgium   Barcelona, Spain
21:00 CEST Boniek   4', 26', 53' (2-0)
Report
Stadium: Camp Nou
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Luis Paulino Siles (Costa Rica)
4 July 1982 Soviet Union   0–0   Poland   Barcelona, Spain
21:00 CEST Report (FIFA) Stadium: Camp Nou
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Bob Valentine (Scotland)

Semi-finals

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8 July 1982 Poland   0–2   Italy   Barcelona, Spain
17:15 CEST (0-1)
Report (FIFA)
Rossi   22', 73' Stadium: Camp Nou
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Juan Daniel Cardellino (Uruguay)

Third place playoff

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10 July 1982 Poland   3–2   France   Alicante, Spain
20:00 CEST Szarmach   40'
Majewski   44'
Kupcewicz   46'
(2-1)
Report (FIFA)
Girard   13'
Couriol   72'
Stadium: Estadio José Rico Pérez
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: António Garrido (Portugal)

1986 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Morocco 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 4 Advance to knockout stage
2   England 3 1 1 1 3 1 +2 3
3   Poland 3 1 1 1 1 3 −2 3
4   Portugal 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 2
Source: FIFA
2 June 1986 Morocco   0–0   Poland   Monterrey, Mexico
16:00 CST Report (FIFA) Stadium: Estadio Universitario
Attendance: 19,900
Referee: José Luis Martínez Bazán (Uruguay)
7 June 1986 Poland   1–0   Portugal   Monterrey, Mexico
16:00 CST Smolarek   68' (0-0)
Report (FIFA)[dead link]
Stadium: Estadio Universitario
Attendance: 19,915
Referee: Ali Bin Nasser (Tunisia)
11 June 1986 England   3–0   Poland   Monterrey, Mexico
16:00 CST Lineker   9', 14', 34' (3-0)
Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Estadio Tecnológico
Attendance: 22,700
Referee: André Daina (Switzerland)

Round of 16

16 June 1986 Brazil   4–0   Poland   Guadalajara, Mexico
12:00 CST Sócrates   30' (pen.)
Josimar   55'
Edinho   79'
Careca   83' (pen.)
(1-0)
Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Estadio Jalisco
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Volker Roth (West Germany)

2002 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Korea (H) 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   United States 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4
3   Portugal 3 1 0 2 6 4 +2 3
4   Poland 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts
4 June 2002 South Korea   2–0   Poland   Busan, South Korea
20:30 Hwang Sun-hong   26'
Yoo Sang-chul   53'
(1-0)
Report (FIFA)
Stadium: Busan Asiad Main Stadium
Attendance: 48,760
Referee: Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)
10 June 2002 Portugal   4–0   Poland   Jeonju, South Korea
20:30 Pauleta   14', 65', 77'
Rui Costa   88'
(1-0)
Report
Stadium: Jeonju World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 31,000
Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)
14 June 2002 Poland   3–1   United States   Daejon, South Korea
20:30 Olisadebe   3'
Kryszałowicz   5'
Żewłakow   66'
(2-0)
Report
Donovan   83' Stadium: Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Attendance: 26,482
Referee: Lu Jun (China)

2006 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Germany (H) 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Ecuador 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3   Poland 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
4   Costa Rica 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts
9 June 2006 Poland   0–2   Ecuador   Gelsenkirchen, Germany
21:00 (0-1)
Report (FIFA)
  24' C. Tenorio
  80' Delgado
Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion Gelsenkirchen
Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
14 June 2006 Germany   1–0   Poland   Dortmund, Germany
21:00 Neuville   90+1' (0-0)
Report (FIFA)
  28'   75' Sobolewski Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)
20 June 2006 Costa Rica   1–2   Poland   Hanover, Germany
16:00 Gómez   25' Report (FIFA)   33', 65' Bosacki Stadium: FIFA WM Stadion Hannover
Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)

2018 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Colombia 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2   Japan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4[a]
3   Senegal 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4[a]
4   Poland 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Fair play points: Japan −4, Senegal −6.
19 June 2018 Poland   1–2   Senegal   Moscow, Russia
18:00 Krychowiak   86' (0-1)
Report (FIFA)
  37' (o.g.) Cionek
  60' Niang
Stadium: Otkritie Arena
Attendance: 44,190
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
24 June 2018 Poland   0–3   Colombia   Kazan, Russia
21:00 (0-1)
Report (FIFA)
  40' Mina
  70' Falcao
  75' Ju. Cuadrado
Stadium: Kazan Arena
Attendance: 42,873
Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)
28 June 2018 Japan   0–1   Poland   Volgograd, Russia
17:00 Report (FIFA)   59' Bednarek Stadium: Volgograd Arena
Attendance: 42,189
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

2022 FIFA World Cup

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Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Argentina 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6 Advanced to knockout stage
2   Poland 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
3   Mexico 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4
4   Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Mexico  0–0  Poland
Report
Attendance: 39,369

Poland  2–0  Saudi Arabia
Report

Poland  0–2  Argentina
Report
Attendance: 44,089

Knockout stage

Round of 16
France  3–1  Poland
Report
Attendance: 40,989

Record players

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Władysław Żmuda, who participated in all four World Cups of Poland's Golden Generation, also holds the shared record as player with the most FIFA World Cup matches without ever winning the trophy. He is tied with Paolo Maldini and Uwe Seeler, but is the only one of those three from a country that has never won the World Cup, either.

Rank Player Matches World Cups
1 Władysław Żmuda 21 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986
2 Grzegorz Lato 20 1974, 1978 and 1982
3 Zbigniew Boniek 16 1978, 1982 and 1986
4 Kazimierz Deyna 13 1974 and 1978
Henryk Kasperczak 13 1974 and 1978
Andrzej Szarmach 13 1974, 1978 and 1982
Antoni Szymanowski 13 1974 and 1978
8 Jerzy Gorgoń 12 1974 and 1978
9 Jan Tomaszewski 11 1974 and 1978
Stefan Majewski 11 1982 and 1986
Józef Młynarczyk 11 1982 and 1986

Top goalscorers

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Ernst Wilimowski was the first player ever to score four goals in one match at a FIFA World Cup, and to this day is the only player who managed this feat and still lost the match.

Rank Player Goals World Cups
1 Grzegorz Lato 10 1974 (7), 1978 (2) and 1982 (1)
2 Andrzej Szarmach 7 1974 (5), 1978 (1) and 1982 (1)
3 Zbigniew Boniek 6 1978 (2) and 1982 (4)
4 Ernst Wilimowski 4 1938 (4)
Kazimierz Deyna 4 1974 (3) and 1978 (1)
5 Włodzimierz Smolarek 2 1982 (1) and 1986 (1)
Bartosz Bosacki 2 2006 (2)
Robert Lewandowski 2 2022 (2)

Goalscoring by Tournament

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World Cup Goalscorer(s)
1938 Ernst Wilimowski (4), Fryderyk Scherfke
1974 Grzegorz Lato (7), Andrzej Szarmach (5), Kazimierz Deyna (3), Jerzy Gorgoń
1978 Zbigniew Boniek (2), Grzegorz Lato (2), Kazimierz Deyna, Andrzej Szarmach
1982 Zbigniew Boniek (4), Andrzej Buncol, Włodzimierz Ciołek, Janusz Kupcewicz, Grzegorz Lato, Stefan Majewski, Włodzimierz Smolarek, Andrzej Szarmach
1986 Włodzimierz Smolarek
2002 Paweł Kryszałowicz, Emmanuel Olisadebe, Marcin Żewłakow
2006 Bartosz Bosacki (2)
2018 Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jan Bednarek[5]
2022 Robert Lewandowski (2), Piotr Zieliński

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage (PDF), FIFA.com. Retrieved on 6 June 2007.
  2. ^ "1938 FIFA World Cup France - Matches - Brazil-Poland". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. ^ "From clowns to Kings: When Poland (almost) ruled the soccer world". CNN.com. Cable News Network. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Poland failed to deliver at a World Cup yet again". prostamerika.com. WordPress Development. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  5. ^ FIFA.com
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