In this blog we will be taking a comprehensive look at the Poland national football team and their chances at FIFA World Cup. Are you a supporter of the Poland football team? Check out betting tips and odds at LV BET Sportsbook and place your bets on your favourite team.
The Poland national team has participated in eight World Cup tournaments, with their first appearance in 1938 when they lost to Brazil in a 5-6 thriller. It took Poland 36 years to qualify for another FIFA World Cup edition. Once they qualified for the World Cup, they began to stun the world with their entertaining football, eliminating the former world champions England in 1974, before finishing third twice in 1974 and 1982. After the 1986 World Cup, the Poland National football team started to lose momentum in global football as they are yet to recover and reach the heights of the 1980s.
The Poland national team managed to qualify for the 2002, 2006 and 2018 FIFA World Cup tournaments, but the team was unable to reach the knockout stage as they failed to make it past the group stage on all three occasions. In all of the mentioned tournaments, Poland lost the first two games before winning the last game, giving them a consolation point.
The biggest win for the Poland national football team was against Haiti in 1974 when they ran riot and scored seven, with Szarmach bagging a hattrick. Their worst defeat came against Brazil in the round of 16 of the 1986 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico, when Poland lost out 4-0.
Read on to learn more about:
- Poland’s football team FIFA World Cup history
- Poland’s road to Qatar
- Poland squad
- LV BET betting tips on Poland
Poland at the FIFA World Cup
The Poland National football team took part in eight editions of the world cup, got eliminated in the group stages on four occasions, twice in the round of 16 and another two times reaching the semi-final but losing out and claiming third place.
The Poland football team peaked in between 1974 and 1986, when they managed to finish third on two occasions and reached the Round of 16 twice, winning 13 games out of the 24 played during that time. After that golden period where Poland was competitive and got great results in the World Cup, they missed out on qualifying for the next three editions of the World Cup.
When in 2002, Poland managed to get back to the Group Stages, they struggled a lot, losing their first two opening matches and managing to win the last game against the United States. In the 2006 edition in Germany, Poland were in the same group as the hosts, alongside Ecuador and Costa Rica. Poland national team once again lost the opening matches 2-0 and 1-0 against Ecuador and Germany, respectively seeing them out of the group, regardless of the outcome of the last game.
In the last FIFA World Cup, the Poland national team got matches with Colombia, Japan and Senegal, but they failed to make it past the group stages. Once again, Poland fell to defeat against Senegal 2-1 and against Colombia 3-0. Against Japan, Bednarek gave the Polish crowd something to cheer about as he netted the winner.
Poland successes and failures at the previous FIFA World Cup
The best performance in a World Cup by the Poland National football team was in the 1974 World Cup held in Germany. The format of the tournament was a bit different from the one that we are used to nowadays. In 1974, the format was changed to have two group stages instead of having a group stage and then the top two teams in each group progressed to the knockout stage.
In the opening match against Argentina, Poland started off in blistering form, scoring in the seventh and eighth minutes of the game. The half-time score was 2-0 for Poland, but the second half proved to be a more formidable task. Similar to the first half, the game had a crazy flurry of goals, with three goals scored in the space of six minutes. The match ended 3-2 in favour of the Poland national team earning the team valuable three points. In their second match, Poland registered their biggest win in a World Cup as they thumped Haiti by seven goals. In the last match, Poland once again won 2-1 against Italy – who were the runners-up of the previous World up – to seal the top spot of the group. After progressing to the second group stage, Poland continued in their positive run, winning against Sweden 2-1 and with the same scoreline beating Yugoslavia, before setting up a deciding game against West Germany to put them in the final, which they missed out on. Poland did, however beat Brazil for the third place playoff, sealing off one of the best campaigns in a World Cup for the Poland national football team.
One of the most disappointing performances by the Poland national football team has to be the performance in the last World Cup in Russia, when in a group that consisted of Colombia, Japan and Senegal, Poland finished last in the group with three points. The World Cup in Russia was a disappointing one as their world-class striker Robert Lewandowski failed to make his mark on the tournament after having a brilliant season with Bayern Munich.
Poland’s road to the Qatar 2022 World Cup
Poland competed in the European World Cup qualifiers and managed to claim second place in Group I, which consisted of England, Albania, Hungary, Andorra and San Marino. With the Poland National team missing out on claiming the top spot, they had to go through a playoff to secure their place in the World Cup in Qatar.
Due to Russia being excluded from participating in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Poland had a direct route to the final, played against Sweden. In the Final, the Poland squad pushed themselves to get a result and, thanks to their top goalscorer, Robert Lewandowski and Zielinski won the game and the right to compete in the upcoming tournament.
Who will Poland play against at the Qatar 2022 World Cup?
Poland will be competing in Group C together with Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the outright favourites to top the group Argentina. Mexico will pose a great challenge to Poland as they are the team to beat to make it to the knockout stages.
The fixtures for the Poland National team are as follows:
- Mexico vs Poland 22 November 2022 17:00 Stadium 974
- Poland vs Saudi Arabia 26 November 2022 14:00 Education City Stadium
- Poland vs Argentina 30 November 2022 20:00 Stadium 974
Poland squad for the World Cup in Qatar
The Poland national team have one of the best strikers in world football in the form of Robert Lewandowski, he has been instrumental in the qualifying round, but he is yet to make his mark in the Group Stages for his national team. One can argue that he finds it more difficult with Poland due to the lack of quality service that he is given leaving his return of goals is drastically less than with his club.
Other notable players within the Polish squad are Matty Cash, who recently changed his nationality, Wojciech Szczesny, Piotr Zielinski and many others. After a disappointing campaign in the last World Cup, Poland will need a way better performance.
The Poland national team football players will be led by Czeslaw Michniewicz as he was appointed earlier this year after the Polish Football Association decided to opt for the Belarusian.
Where to see FIFA World Cup 2022 matches in Poland?
All around Poland, there will be places where you can enjoy a nice meal whilst watching the Poland National team in action. Kick-off times will vary depending on the fixture, but all will be played in the late or early afternoon.
You will be able to watch all the action unfold in all FIFA World Cup license holders as well as bars and restaurants that own the rights to show the matches.
For more information, please visit the official FIFA website here.
Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 tickets — prices, sale dates and tournament stages
For more information regarding ticket sales and accessibility tickets, please visit the official website here.
All tickets are sold in Qatari riyal (QAR) to both residents of Qatar and International fans.
| FIFA World Cup round | Category I | Category II | Category III |
| Opening match | 2,250 | 1,600 | 1,100 |
| Group phase | 800 | 600 | 250 |
| 1/8 final | 1,000 | 750 | 350 |
| Quarterfinal | 1,550 | 1,050 | 750 |
| Semifinal | 3,480 | 2,400 | 1,300 |
| Match for 3rd place | 1,550 | 1,100 | 750 |
| Final | 5,850 | 3,650 | 2,200 |
Betting tips and odds on Poland National team
Poland will be playing in Group C, together with Argentina who are the favourites to win the group, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Starting off with the favourites to win the group, Argentina are priced at 2/5 (1.40), whilst Mexico are at 5/1 (6.00). Poland are valued at 9/2 (5.50) to win the group for the first time since the 1982 and Saudi Arabia at 20/1 (21.00), as the least favourite side.
Bets on Poland National Football team at LV BET
Poland will start off the 2022 campaign against Mexico, and we are expecting a tight affair with neither of the teams more favourite than the other. Mexico are priced at 17/10 (2.70) to win whilst Poland are at 7/4 (2.75) to win
We hope that you have enjoyed reading a detailed overview of the Poland national team as well as their chances going into the Qatar FIFA World Cup. Thank you for your support.