Poland
Group:
C
First Match:
November 23, 2022, 12 AM SGT
Stadium:
Stadium 974
After a shaky start in Group I, Poland finished 2nd to England, 2 points ahead of Albania and 3 ahead of Hungary. They were given a bye during their initial playoff match against Russia and proceeded to defeat Sweden 2-0, advancing to their ninth World Cup finals and fourth in the previous 20 years.
They have failed to advance past the group stage in 6 of their last 7 major tournament appearances since 2002, with the notable exception of the 2016 European Championships, where they reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated by eventual champion Portugal in a penalty shootout.
Key Player: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
With 9 goals during qualifying, Lewandowski was the third greatest scorer in Europe, making him the most accomplished Polish player in the country's history.
He had an incredible record at home, scoring 238 goals in 253 matches over 8 seasons for Bayern Munich, but this summer he made the switch to Spain to play for Barcelona.