Poland has competed in four UEFA European Championships in a row: Euro 2008, Euro 2012, Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. They have never finished outside the top two and have won the competition twice: in 1980 and 2004.
Poland has been one of Europe's leading teams since their debut at a major tournament, they have reached the final three times but have never won it. However, they have never lost by more than one goal to any team at a European Championship.
Euro 1980 was held in France; it was the first time that Poland had qualified for the European Championship. They started the tournament with a win over England after which they were drawn against Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland in what was known as the "group of death". Although they lost all three games, they managed to finish second from last so could advance to the next round. In the next round they were drawn against Yugoslavia who they beat 3-1. This was followed by another win over Sweden and a draw with Italy before losing to Germany in the quarter-finals. The score was 1-1 after 90 minutes but West Germany went on to win 2-1 after extra time.
Poland will compete in their fourth UEFA Euro Championships in 2020, trying to improve on their achievement four years ago, when they reached the quarter-finals. They were defeated by eventual winners Portugal.
Poland are one of only two countries to have ever won the trophy twice (the other being Germany), and are also the only country to have come from behind to win it. In 1972, Poland lost to Germany in their opening match 1-3, then went on to beat them 3-1 in their second game to claim the title.
Their last appearance at the tournament was in 2016, where they were eliminated by France in the group stage. Before that, they had been eliminated by England in the quarter-finals of 2004 and 2008. They are yet to defeat any team at this year's Euros.
Poland are currently ranked sixth in Europe. Their best performance at a European Championship was in 1964, when they finished third behind Italy and Sweden.
They qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1990, but were ousted in the first round by South Korea. However, they did qualify again in 1996, when they were beaten by Japan in the quarter-finals. Then in 2012, they became the first nation to qualify directly from Group Stage 2.
In the opening game, Poland faced Germany in a repeat of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Despite the fact that the Poles were far from dominating the game and generated several chances, Germany won 2-0. The game's two goals were scored by Lukas Podolski, a Polish-born German striker.
So far, Poland has competed in three UEFA European Championships: UEFA Euro 2008, UEFA Euro 2012, and UEFA Euro 2016. While the UEFA European Football Championship was founded in 1960, it took Poland up to 48 years to qualify, by which time they had attended five FIFA World Cup finals and finished third in two of them.
Poland continues to astound the football world by topping a group that included Argentina, Italy, and Haiti in its first World Cup in 36 years. In the second round, they defeated Sweden and Yugoslavia, just missing out on a place in the final against the Netherlands.
Nine nations Winners of the UEFA European (Euro) Championship: The tournament has been won by nine countries: Germany and Spain have three championships apiece; France has two wins; while Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Greece have one each.
Germany are the most successful nation with five victories out of a possible six. They have more trophies than any other national team. Spain are second with three medals. England, France, and Italy share the third place with two wins each.
Germany became the first country to retain the trophy after winning it in 2016. They were beaten by France in the final of the previous competition. However, Germany won the next two tournaments - making them the only team to win back-to-back titles. France finished as runners-up for a third time.
The award goes to Bobby Moore of England. The ball was actually in play during the entire match - including stoppages - and there were no goals scored during these moments. However, Moore managed to score once the game resumed. He achieved this record during his time at Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur.
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