Scoring Machine Robert Lewandowski Powers Poland Revival

Team 🇵🇱: Poland

Current FIFA Ranking 📊: 8

Previous World Cup 🏆 appearances: 7 - 1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006


Best World Cup result ✨: 3rd place - 1974 and 1982

Group fixtures 📆: June 19 vs Senegal, June 24 vs Colombia, June 28 v Japan

Captain: Robert Lewandowski

Star Player⭐: Robert Lewandowski

Head coach 👔: Adam Nawalka

Preferred formation: 4-4-1-1

Qualification Route:

Poland became the Group E winners in European qualifying, winning eight games (D1 L1) to finish five points clear of Denmark. The Bayern Munich forward scored 16 goals in 10 games — a European qualifying record — to propel Poland to its first World Cup in 12 years.

Past Performances:

One of the most renowned Polish teams was the one of the mid-1970s. Poland held England to a draw in a dramatic match at Wembley Stadium to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Poland reached the semi-finals, where the deciding game against the eventual champions Germany resulted in a narrow 0-1 defeat. Just missing out on the final, Poland ended the tournament by defeating Brazil 1–0 to claim third place in the tournament. Striker Grzegorz Lato won the Golden Boot for his seven goals. Poland also finished third in the 1982 tournament, beating France 3–2 in the third-place play-off.

Poland also won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich; the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal; and a silver medal in 1992 in Barcelona.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski, Lukasz Fabianski, Wojciech Szczesny

Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Bartosz Bereszynski, Thiago Cionek, Kamil Glik, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Michal Pazdan, Lukasz Piszczek

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski, Jacek Goralski, Kamil Goricki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Slawomir Peszko, Maciej Rybus, Piotr Zielinski, Rafal Kurzawa, Karol Linetty

Forwards: Dawid Kownacki, Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Lukasz Teodorczyk