Over the years, there is no team that has perhaps shared as much World Cup history with England than Poland. Admittedly, rivalries with Germany and Argentina may well have more resonance with England fans, but in terms of the sheer number of meetings between the teams, England and Poland are hard to beat.
The two old rivals meet again this week at Wembley on Wednesday evening. Having been drawn into Group I of the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers, England have opened up their campaign with two wins against San Marino (5-0) and Albania (2-0).
Poland are also unbeaten having earned a 3-3 draw away to Hungary on the opening day and followed that with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Andorra. It is likely that this Robert Lewandowski-led team will be England’s most dangerous competition for top spot and a place in the World Cup Finals from Group I.
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Let’s now take a historic look back at some big England v Poland World Cup matches over the years, before we turn our attention to Wednesday night’s big game at Wembley.
England v Poland – World Cup History
A quick look at the history of the two teams matches reveals great news for England fans. In 18 games, England have lost just once (more on that defeat later) and they have won 11 and drawn 7 of the 18 games in total.
England have also won seven of the last nine between the teams, drawing the other two games in that run which extends back to September 1993.
The teams have met at one World Cup Finals (1986) and have played the vast majority of their other games in European Championship or World Cup qualifiers. Let’s now take a look at some of the most memorable encounters between the two.
England v Poland – Classic Encounters
October 1973 – England 1-1 Poland
Perhaps the most famous result in Polish football history came at Wembley in 1973 when Jan
Tomaszewski, dubbed a clown by Brian Clough before the game, produced a performance for the ages to deny England the win they needed to reach the 1974 World Cup Finals in Germany. The game finished 1-1, Domarski scoring for Poland before Allan Clarke equalised from a penalty, but the Polish goalkeepers unusual style has gone down in Wembley folklore. This game is the only time Poland have avoided defeat at Wembley.
June 1986 – England 3-0 Poland
The 1986 World Cup Finals had not started well for England. Defeat to Portugal in their opening game was followed by a 0-0 draw with Morocco which saw Ray Wilkins sent off and Bryan Robson injured. A win was a must in their third game against table toppers Poland. A new look England side tore into the Poles and led 3-0 at the interval, thanks to a hat trick from Gary Lineker. England would go on to beat Paraguay in the second round before losing to the ‘hand of god’ Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina in the quarterfinals.
May 1997 – Poland 0-2 England
After losing at home to Italy, England were behind the Italians in the race to qualify for France 1998. However, after drawing 0-0 with Poland, the Italians began to drop points, England now faced a trip to Chorzow knowing a win could put them back in contention in the group, Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham scored the goals which handed England the win and with Italy going on to draw away to Georgia and, crucially at home to England, that final result saw England finish top of the group to earn automatic qualification.
England V Poland Preview
England
England come into this game having scored seven goals in their two qualifying games so far,
conceding none and with maximum points, albeit you would expect that given that England faced San Marino at home and Albania away.
Harry Kane scored his first goal in over a year for England away to Albania and that was a timely boost for the England captain ahead of this game where his goal threat is likely to be even more important.
It will be interesting to see how Gareth Southgate lines up for this game, whether he reverts to a back three, or remains with a back four, with the threat of Robert Lewandowski now not going to be an issue due to his injury sustained against Andorra.
Poland
A solid point in a 3-3 draw away to Hungary was followed up with a 3-0 home win over Andorra to give the Poles second place in Group I and four points from qualifying so far. Of their six goals, captain and record goalscorer Robert Lewandowski has grabbed three of them.
The Bayern Munich star is not just his country’s record goalscorer with 66 goals, he is also their most capped player and the cornerstone of this Polish side. It is not unfair to say that his form and influence in front of goal determines how well this Polish team play. His absence through injury is a massive blow for the team.
The Polish side is blessed with a number of other talented players in Piatek, Milik, Zielinski and Glik but it is Lewandowski that makes them tick and his injury sustained against Andorra is a massive blow to Polish hopes.
England V Poland Tips
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the loss of Lewandowski is a hammer blow to Polish hopes in this game, With him, England would have had to keep him under very close guard, but without him, I feel this Polish side is nowhere near as dangerous.
England are 2/7 with bet365 to win the game and I think that is the obvious bet here.
However, I think for a better value bet, you can get England to win the match 2-0, which is a 5/1 shot also with bet365, while Harry Kane to score at any time and England to win 2-0 is a 7/1 shot with bet365 on the Anytime Scorecast market.
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