 |
| Population: |
38,600,000 |
| Area: |
312,685 km² |
| Capital: |
Warsaw |
| Language: |
Polish |
|
THE
ROAD TO KOREA/JAPAN
|
| Poland took pole position in the UEFA group 5 from the
first matchday and stayed there. Closest rivals Ukraine ended 4 points behind. |
|
Click
here for details
|
|
WORLD
CUP HISTORY
|
| Participations: (5) 1938, 1974,
1978, 1982 and 1986 |
| Best placing: Third place 1974 and 1982 |
| Topscorer: Grzegorz Lato,
10 goals |
|
More
detailed history information
|
|
ONE
TO WATCH
|
|
| Emmanuel Olisadebe has the potential to become a
sensation in this World Cup. He is a very quick, unpredictable and mobile forward with a good
shot and a type of player who can create chances out of nothing. |
|
WCA
VERDICT: Through to KO stage
|
| We predict Poland to follow Portugal to the second round from
this group. They are not heads and shoulders above USA and South Korea, but they have a few potential
matchwinners like Dudek in goal and Olisadebe up front who might make the difference. They also seem
to have more depth in their squad. |
|
OPTIMISTIC POLES READY TO STEAL THE LIMELIGHT AGAIN
by Mike Gibbons
Throughout the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Poland had a squad of players that were some of the finest in Europe. When
their days were over, they left a void that has not been filled until now, as Poland have qualified for their first major
championships since Mexico 86.
It seems as if this time around fate had been a lot kinder to the Poles. They were in a qualifying group which contained none
of the traditional European powers, pitting them against Ukraine, Norway, Wales, Belarus and Armenia. Even so, the coach
Jerzy Engel was having a torrid time with the national media, and it seemed that he was only a bad result away from losing his
job. His main problem was that his team was not scoring enough goals. To rectify the situation Zbigniew Boniek, Poland’s
greatest ever player, recommended the granting of Polish citizenship to a certain Emmanuel Olisadebe, a young Nigerian
striker who had impressed for Polonia Warsaw, in time for the start of the world cup qualifiers.
Citizenship was granted and
the move proved to be a masterstroke. Olisadebe scored twice in the opening qualifying match in Kiev, giving the Poles a
superb 3-1 victory over the Ukraine to give them a flying start from which they never looked back. ‘Oli’ scored six more
times i! n qualifying, the team grabbed crucial away victories in Norway and Wales, followed by a 3-0 thrashing of Norway in
Chorzow, and with two matches to spare had secured automatic qualification to the World Cup. Engel’s fortunes had come full
circle, once the villain but now a national hero.
Having revived Polish fortunes with his eight qualifying goals, Olisadebe goes to the World Cup as Poland’s bright hope. He is
currently on loan to Panathinaikos in the Greek league. In goal for Poland, and often outstanding in qualification, is Jerzy
Dudek, now playing for Liverpool in England, where more brilliant displays have enhanced his reputation even further. He will
be one of the best goalkeepers on display this summer. Poland’s defence is a tight-knit unit, with experienced centre-halves
Tomasz Hajto and Tomasz Waldoch both playing for Schalke in Germany, and Tomasz Klos at right back playing for
Kaiserslauten. Attack-minded left-back Michal Zewlakow played in all ten qualifying matches.
In midfield, Radoslaw Kaluzny, who also plays in Germany with Energie Cottbus, proved an unlikely source of goals in
qualifying, netting five in total. Piotr Swierczewski of Marseille is looked to as the main playmaker, yet his return of just one
goal in over sixty caps is a poor one. Bartosz Karwan of Legia Warsaw is likely to play on the right, whilst Marek Kozminski,
currently having an unhappy spell at Brescia, should play down the left.
Pawel Kryszalowicz of Eintracht Frankfurt will be the foil for Olisadebe in attack. In the event of injury or suspension to either
the main back-up is Marcin Zewlakow, brother of left-back Michal, who like his twin plays at Mouscron in Belgium.
Despite the fact that Poland qualified with some amount of ease, this Polish team is a limited one. A unique team spirit, so
obvious in qualifying, has been vital to the team’s progress, and will be needed again to make an impression at the finals. As
with their qualifying group, the draw for the finals has been reasonably kind to them. Poland have been drawn against
Portugal, the USA and co-hosts South Korea. Everyone fully expects Portugal to win this group comfortably, so it would
seem Poland find themselves in a three-way fight for second place in the group, and advancement to the knockout stages.
Despite having only one genuine world class player in Jerzy Dudek, Poland must fancy their chances of progressing. They
should have the beating of the USA, so that raises the stakes of their opening game against South Korea, in what is sure to be
an electric atmosphere in Busan. Win that, and Poland will be in business.
A BRIEF WORLD CUP HISTORY
by Jan Alsos
Poland have participated in five World Cups. Their only pre-war
appearance came in 1938 when they lost 6-5 to Brazil in a bizarre match where Ernst
Willimowski became the first and only man to score four goals and still end up on the losing
side. Poland had to wait until 1974 before they qualified again. The generation of Deyna,
Lato, Szarmach and Tomaszewski played superb in West Germany and captured the
bronzemedals having beaten teams like Argentina, Italy and Brazil on their way. Grzegorz
Lato was topscorer of the tournament with 7 goals.
Poland remained one of the world’s greatest teams for a decade. Four years later in
Argentina an early second phase defeat against the hosts and later against Brazil prevented
the Poles from reaching a top four position, but a new star was born in that tournament: ‘Zibi’
Boniek. He was crucial when Poland in Spain 1982 again won bronze medals after defeating
France in the play-off. The Poland of that World Cup did not have the talent of eight years
earlier, but had more experience. Lato was still around and was highly involved in Poland’s
quest for glory, but Boniek was now the great star and one of the tournament’s best players.
Unfortunately he was suspended when Poland played Italy in the semifinal.
Poland qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup in 1986, but failed to live up to the
high standards set by the previous generations. Boniek and a number of faded stars and
survivors from 1982 lost 4-0 to Brazil in the second round.
|
[HOME]
BACKGROUND
Info on how
the World Cup was founded and about the trophy as well. |
THE
WORLD CUPS
Detailed info
on every match in every tournament. |
COLUMNISTS
Interesting columns about the past, present and future of the World Cup. |
THE
NATIONS
Every nation
with appearances in the World Cup. Detailed info on every country. |
LEGENDS
Player profiles
of many of the most influential players in history. |
A-Z STORIES
An A-Z collection
of strange and different stories in World Cup history. |
STATISTICS
A big collection
of various statistics and records. |
MASCOTS
Every mascot
since it was introduced in 1966. |
QUIZ
Test your
knowledge about the WC. Three different levels. No prizes, just for fun. |
TOP
10 RANKINGS
Rankings of
lots of stuff. For instance Best Goals, Best Players and Best Matches. |
LINKS
Our collection
of links to other soccer sites with World Cup connection. |
LINK
TO
Some banners
and buttons for you to link to us if you want. |
ABOUT
US
A little information
on who keeps this site available. |
|
