History at UEFA Euro

Poland qualified for the 2020 (2021) UEFA European Championship group phase as the winner of Group G. It was only until 2008 that they succeeded in getting qualified for the championship. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t make it to the finals and ended in the 14th position in the group stage. They have participated a total of 3 times in this competition, with the last being in 2016. This was their best performance in this competition, losing to Portugal on penalties. However, it took Poland as many as 48 years to get qualified for the Euro Championship. Surprisingly, even some of Poland’s best coaches Kazimierz Górski and Antoni Piechniczek were unable to break this humiliating succession of defeats. With their last historic performance and their good performance in this tournament, we believe Poland still reserves us some surprises.

Records & Rankings

Most caps: Robert Lewandowski – 114 Times Most goals: Robert Lewandowski – 63 Goals Largest win: 10-0 against San Marino (01 April 2009) Largest win at European Championship: 1-0 against Northern Ireland & Ukraine; 5-4 against Switzerland (Euro 2016) Most consecutive games without a defeat: 13 games – Between 2000 and 2001; 2016 and 2017 Most consecutive wins: 7 – Between May 2005 and October 2005 Highest FIFA Ranking: 5th

Ones to watch

Robert Lewandowski:

Robert Lewandowski is the most capped player of the Poland national football team, the top goal scorer and the captain. Also, he plays as a striker for the Bundesliga Bayern Munich club in Germany, where he scored a total of 196 goals since 2014. Furthermore, he is known as one of the best players in the world and renowned for his positioning, technique, and finishing. In 2020, Lewandowski won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award. As such, he is the key player that can take Poland very far in this competition.

Jakub Błaszczykowski:

Jakub Błaszczykowski is a professional football player who plays as a winger for the Wisła Kraków club. At 35 years old, he has played for Borussia Dortmund where he spent the majority of his career. Jakub won 2 Bundesliga titles, 2 DFL-Supercups, and one DFB-Pokal. Also, he was twice nominated as the Polish Football player of the year in 2008 and 2010. In addition, he is the second-most capped player of Poland with 108 appearances. In the previous edition of the Euro championship, Błaszczykowski played a key role in the goal Arkadiusz scored against Northern Ireland. Therefore, he will certainly be a key player in this competition.

Wojciech Szczęsny:

Szczęsny plays as a professional goalkeeper for Juventus, a Serie A club in Italy. At the age of 30, this experienced player has won 3 consecutive league titles as well as the Serie A Best Goalkeeper Award. This award clearly places him as one of the key players for Poland, and this may help them concede fewer goals. He has accumulated more than 40 caps for the Polish National team since his 2009 debut. He stood out for his fundamental goalkeeping technique, reflexes, consistency, and positional sense. Furthermore, with his ability to handle pressure, Szczęsny will be a great tool for Poland.