Vienna
Vienna is the federal capital and largest city of Austria, one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city, with a population of about 1.9 million, its cultural and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union; until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC; the city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.
Apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is said to be "The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud. The city's roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings and parks. Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the world's most liveable cities. Between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne. In 2018, it replaced Melbourne as the number one spot. For ten consecutive years, the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey of hundreds of cities around the world.
Monocle's 2015 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within."The UN-Habitat classified Vienna as the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, sixth globally in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture and markets. Vienna hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world's number-one destination for international congresses and conventions, it attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the city's name or the French Vienne; the etymology of the city's name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning "forest stream", which subsequently produced the Old High German Uuenia, the New High German Wien and its dialectal variant Wean.
Others believe that the name comes from the Roman settlement name of Celtic extraction Vindobona meaning "fair village, white settlement" from Celtic roots, vindo-, meaning "bright" or "fair" – as in the Irish fionn and the Welsh gwyn –, -bona "village, settlement". The Celtic word Vindos may reflect a widespread prehistorical cult of a Celtic God. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Polish names of the city and in that of the city's district Wieden; the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different Slavonic origin, referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, on which the city stands. Evidence has been found of continuous habitation in the Vienna area since 500 BC, when Celts settled the site on the Danube River. In 15 BC the Romans fortified the frontier city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north.
Close ties with other Celtic peoples continued through the ages. The Irish monk Saint Colman is buried in Melk Abbey and Saint Fergil served as Bishop of Salzburg for forty years. Irish Benedictines founded twelfth-century monastic settlements. Evidence of these ties persists in the form of Vienna's great Schottenstift monastery, once home to many Irish monks. In 976 Leopold I of Babenberg became count of the Eastern March, a 60-mile district centering on the Danube on the eastern frontier of Bavaria; this initial district grew into the duchy of Austria. Each succeeding Babenberg ruler expanded the march east along the Danube encompassing Vienna and the lands east. In 1145 Duke Henry II Jasomirgott moved the Babenberg family residence from Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria to Vienna. From that time, Vienna remained the center of the Babenberg dynasty. In 1440 Vienna became the resident city of the Habsburg dynasty, it grew to become the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire in 1437 and a cultural centre for arts and science and fine cuisine.
Hungary occupied the city between 1485 and 1490. In the 16th and 1
Switzerland national football team
The Switzerland national football team is the national football team of Switzerland. The team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association. Switzerland's best performance at the FIFA World Cup are three quarter-final appearances, in 1934, 1938 and 1954, they hosted the competition in 1954, where they played with Austria in the quarter-final match, losing 7–5, which today still stands as the highest scoring World Cup match. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Switzerland set a FIFA World Cup record by being eliminated from the tournament despite not conceding a single goal, being eliminated by Ukraine in a penalty shootout in the round of sixteen, they didn't concede a goal until a match against Chile at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, conceding in the 75th minute. Switzerland and Austria were the co-hosts of UEFA Euro 2008, where the Swiss made their third appearance in the competition, but didn't progress from the group stage for the third time. Overall, Switzerland's best result at an official football competition was the silver medal they earned in 1924, after losing to Uruguay 3–0 in the final of the 1924 Olympic Games.
At the 1924 Paris Olympic Games, Switzerland finished with a silver medal after losing to Uruguay in the final, losing 3–0. The team's debut appearance at the World Cup was in 1934. Switzerland once again reached the quarter-finals in 1938. At the 1950 World Cup, Switzerland were drawn in a group with Brazil and Mexico, where they lost 4–0 to Yugoslavia in the opening match, drew 2–2 with Brazil in their second match and beating Mexico 2–1 in their final group mach, finished third in their group. On 22 July 1946, Switzerland was awarded the right to host the 1954 FIFA World Cup unopposed, in Luxembourg City. At the World Cup, Switzerland finished second in their group behind England, they were knocked out of the tournament after losing 7–5 to Austria. At the 1962 World Cup, Switzerland finished bottom of the group, losing all three games, losing 3–1 to Chile, 2–1 to West Germany and 3–0 to Italy. A similar results came at the 1966 World Cup, where Switzerland again finished bottom of the group and lost all three games, losing 5–0 to West Germany, 2–1 to Spain and 2–0 to Argentina.
In 1992, Switzerland appointed English manager Roy Hodgson as head coach of the national team. Under his guidance, Switzerland rose to 3rd in the FIFA World Ranking in August 1993, which still remains their highest FIFA ranking to this day. Hodgson lead Switzerland to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, losing just one game during qualifying, in a group that included Italy, much fancied Portugal and Scotland; the Swiss won their home tie with Italy, in the away game, took a 2–0 lead before being pegged back to a 2–2 draw, took four points from Scotland, winning 3–1 at home and drawing 1–1 away. Against the Portuguese, Switzerland drew 1–1 at home and lost 1–0 in the away fixture in Porto, their only defeat of the qualifying campaign, their opening match against the United States, on 18 June 1994, was played indoors. In the next match, they won 4–1 over Romania, in their final game against Colombia, lost 2–0. Switzerland still qualified from the group, but were knocked out by Spain, losing 3–0. Switzerland failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, hosted in France, as they finished 4th in their qualifying group, winning three games.
At UEFA Euro 1996, Switzerland once again qualified for the tournament finals hosted in England, as they topped their qualifying group, losing just once. They were drawn in Group A, their opening match was against hosts England, the two sides drew 1–1. In their second match, they lost 2–0 to the Netherlands, in their final group game, lost 1–0 to Scotland. In qualifying for UEFA Euro 2004, Switzerland finished top of a group that featured Russia, the Republic of Ireland and Georgia; the Swiss qualified for the finals in Portugal. They began the tournament with 0–0 draw with Croatia before succumbing to a 3–0 defeat to England in the next match, they lost their final match against France. Their only goal of the entire tournament was scored by Johan Vonlanthen, who became the youngest goalscorer at the Euros when he scored the equalizing goal against France. Switzerland, along with Austria, were chosen as co-hosts of UEFA Euro 2008. Switzerland were drawn in Group A with Portugal and the Czech R
Peter Bosz
Peter Sylvester Bosz is a Dutch former football midfielder and current manager of Bayer Leverkusen. A midfielder, Bosz started his professional career played with Vitesse in 1981, he retired at the end of the year 1999 after a second spell with JEF United Ichihara. Bosz made his debut for the Netherlands in a December 1991 Euro qualification match against Greece and earned eight caps, scoring no goals, his final international was in 1995 against the Czech Republic. He was part of the Dutch squad at UEFA Euro 1992. After his retirement, Bosz started a career in management, first becoming head coach of amateurs AGOVV Apeldoorn, a position he held from January 2000 to 2002. In 2002 he won a national amateur league title. Bosz made his move into professional football in 2002; the team was relegated to the Eerste Divisie. Bosz next became manager of Heracles Almelo, he promoted with them to the Eredivisie. Bosz' Heracles secured their Eredivisie promotion the following year, finishing 13th in the 2005–06 Eredivisie.
In July 2006, Bosz accepted an offer as technical director at his former club Feyenoord. Whilst at the club he was responsible for completing the signings of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Roy Makaay, Tim de Cler, Kevin Hofland and Denny Landzaat, he left the position on 14 January 2009 due to his opposition to the dismissal of head coach Gertjan Verbeek. In the summer of 2010, Bosz started his second spell as manager of Heracles Almelo, replacing Verbeek who had moved to AZ Alkmaar in the meantime; the team finished 8th in the 2010–11 Eredivisie, securing qualification for the European competition Playoffs, where they were eliminated by FC Groningen. Heracles finished 12th in the 2011 -- 2012 -- 13 Eredivisie, he left the club in 2013. On 19 June 2013, Bosz became manager of Vitesse, signing a two-year deal, together with assistant manager Hendrie Krüzen who joined him from Heracles. Bosz replaced outgoing manager Fred Rutten. In November 2013, Vitesse was top of the league in the Eredivisie for the first time since 2006.
It was the first time since 2000 they'd been top of the league than the first week. Halfway through the season, after 17 matches, Vitesse was top of the league; the team finished 2013–14 Eredivisie in sixth place. The following season, Bosz extended his contract by one year, until 2016. Technical director Mohammed Allach and Bosz developed a multi-year plan where the Vitesse Academy should play a major role, scouting improved, the attacking style Bosz preferred leading. In the 2014–15 Eredivisie, Vitesse finished fifth, qualifying for the European competition play-offs. By defeating PEC Zwolle in the semi-final, SC Heerenveen in the final, the team secured qualification for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. At the end of the season, Bosz was nominated for the Rinus Michels Award, but lost to Phillip Cocu, who had led PSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie title. In the 2015–16 Eredivisie, Vitesse was in fifth place in the winter break, after which Bosz left the club. In January 2016 Bosz was announced as the new head coach of Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Bosz left Tel Aviv in May 2016 for Dutch team AFC Ajax. During his time in Israel, Bosz was undefeated with 12 wins and 7 draws. However, Tel Aviv lost the title to Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Lost in the Israeli cup final to Maccabi Haifa. In May 2016, AFC Ajax announced that Bosz was appointed to serve as the new head coach from July 2016 after signing a three-year contact. In his first competitive match as head coach, Bosz's side earned a 1–1 draw against PAOK in the Third qualifying round of the Champions League on 27 July 2016. Bosz was unable to lead Ajax to the group stage of the Champions League after losing 5–2 on aggregate to Russian side FC Rostov. On 11 September 2016, Bosz faced his former side Vitesse, as Ajax won 1–0. On 24 May 2017 Ajax were beaten 2–0 at Friends Arena, Stockholm in the Europa League final by Manchester United. On 6 June 2017 it was announced. Since there was no buy-out clause in his contract with his previous club, Ajax received nearly €5 million for compensation in order to buy out his contract.
It was a record buyout of a head coach for a German club, breaking the previous record of €4 million. After no wins in their Champions League group stage, Dortmund dropped into the Europa League. On 10 December 2017, Bosz was replaced by Peter Stöger. On 23 December 2018, he was appointed as the new head coach of Bayer Leverkusen; as of 13 April 2019 FeyenoordEredivisie: 1992–93 KNVB Cup: 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95 AGOVV ApeldoornHoofdklasse: 2002Heracles AlmeloEerste Divisie: 2004–05VitesseEredivisie European Competition Playoff: 2014–15 Peter Bosz at National-Football-Teams.com Peter Bosz at J. League
Alan Carvalho
Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho known as Alan, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Tianjin Tianhai on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande. After spells in Brazil with Londrina and Fluminense, Alan joined Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2010. There he became an intrinsic part of the squad, his playing time was limited in the 2011–12 season owing to an injury. Alan scored for the club, including many hat-tricks. In 2015, after playing nearly 130 matches for the Austrian side and scoring nearly 100 goals, he signed with Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande. Born in Barbosa, São Paulo, Alan signed for Londrina, in 2007. In 2008, he was given a professional contract by Fluminense with whom he played for two seasons till 2010, he scored 11 league goals for the club and won the 2010 Brasileiro. On 11 August 2010, Alan signed for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg for an undisclosed fee, as a replacement for Marc Janko who headed to FC Twente, he made his debut for the club in UEFA Champions League qualifier against Hapoel Tel Aviv which his team lost 2–3.
In that match he came as a 67th-minute substitute for Franz Schiemer. In his first season with the club, Alan scored a hat-trick against Sturm Graz on 16 April 2011. Alan scored braces against Austria Wien and SC Wiener Neustadt as he ended the season with 10 league goals. Alan started the 2011–12 season by scoring a hat-trick against Latvian side FK Liepājas Metalurgs, his goal scoring streak continued as he scored a brace against FK Senica as well as scoring in a defeat against AC Omonia. However his playing time in his second season with the Austrian club was limited as he ruptured his cruciate ligament in a league match against Rapid Vienna on 28 August 2011 and was ruled out of action for at least six months. Alan got back on training on 20 November 2012, he finished the 2012–13 season with 11 goals in 14 league matches and did not play in any continental match. The 2013–14 season proved to be the most successful season so far for the Brazilian striker. On 8 February 2014, Alan scored. In that match, the same feat would be achieved by his Spanish partner Jonathan Soriano.
He received two red cards - one against SV Ried and another against FC Basel in an UEFA Europa League encounter. Alan ended the season winning the Austrian Football Bundesliga and Austrian Cup - completing a domestic double, he was the second topscorer only behind teammate Soriano. The following season too, started well for Alan, as he scored for his side. On 23 October 2014, Alan scored a hat-trick as Salzburg won 4–2 against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League group stage, he added another two on 27 November in a 3–1 win at Celtic Park which ensured that Salzburg became the first Austrian club to win in Scotland, striking in the 8th and 13th minutes. In his penultimate league match for his club, he scored a hat-trick, scoring in 52nd, 58th and 60th minute against FK Austria Wien. Despite leaving halfway through the season, with eight goals he was the joint top scorer in the season's Europa League, alongside Everton's Romelu Lukaku; this was the second consecutive time that a Red Bull player had achieved this honour, after his strike partner Soriano.
On 16 January 2015, Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao announced they had signed Alan from Red Bull Salzburg on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €11.1 million. He was issued the number 7 jersey. On 14 February 2015, he made his official debut in the 2015 Chinese FA Super Cup against Shandong Luneng, coming on as a substitute for Gao Lin. On 3 March 2015, Alan suffered a cruciate ligament rupture while training before the 2015 AFC Champions League match against Western Sydney Wanderers, ruling him out for at least five months. After Paulinho and Robinho joined the club in July, still recovering from injury, was degraded to the reserve team squad for the second half of the season due to foreign player limit, he was named in the 23-man squad for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup but didn't play in the tournament, while manager Luiz Felipe Scolari explained that he just recovered from injury and was not ready to play. Alan made his return on 6 March 2016, 370 days after his injury, in a Super League match against Chongqing Lifan, coming on as a substitute for Huang Bowen.
Alan scored his first goal in his fifth appearance for Guangzhou on 24 April 2016, in a 4–0 away victory against Tianjin Teda. He went on to score in the next five matches, including 2–1 win over Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, 2–1 win over Hangzhou Greentown, 2–0 win over Hebei China Fortune, 3–0 win over Liaoning during Guangzhou Evergrande's 9-league winning streak and 2–0 win against Nei Mongol Zhongyou in the CFA Cup. Alan scored 18 goals in 35 appearances as Guangzhou won the double of 2016 Chinese Super League and 2016 Chinese FA Cup. On 22 February 2017, Alan started the season with Guangzhou Evergrande in an emphatic 7–0 home victory over Hong Kong side Eastern in the 2017 AFC Champions League, he scored in the second half. On 25 February, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win against Jiangsu Suning in the 2017 Chinese FA Super Cup and was awarded the most valuable player of the tournament, he made 43 appearances and scored 21 goals in the 2017 season, acting an important part of Guangzhou Evergrande's winning their seventh consecutive title of the league.
Alan scored his first goal in the 2018 season on 26 February 2018 in a 4–1 victory over Shanghai Greenland Shenhua to win the 2018 Chinese FA Super Cup. He was awarded the most valuable player for the second time. On 2 March, he scored his first hat-trick in China in a 5–4 home loss to city rivals Guangzhou R&F in t
Jörg Schmadtke
Jörg Schmadtke is a German football manager. The former coach and goalkeeper last worked as sporting director for 1. FC Köln, he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, SC Freiburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, all together 266 games in the German Bundesliga. Schmadtke was involved three times in improving the financial and sports situation of a club considerably. After A-levels Schmadtke started to study mechanical engineering he switched to business administration, but did not complete both. From 1985 to 1993 he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, from 1993 until 1997 for SC Freiburg, in the 1997–98 season for Bayer Leverkusen, he received nine yellow and one red card. Schmadtke played 106 games in the 2, with two yellow cards. In September 1998, he did not play. In December 2001, Schmadtke started working as sporting director at Aachen which had four million Euro debt and were in danger of losing the license, he was able to build up the scouting. In the 2004–05 season, Alemannia Aachen reached the German Cup final.
The following season, the team earned promotion into the first league. The club prospered financially. In October 2008 he announced to not renew his contract which ran until 2009, was released from work the next day. Coach Dieter Hecking said. Transfers included Simon Rolfes, Jan Schlaudraff, Vedad Ibisevic. From summer 2009 up to June 2013, Schmadtke worked as sporting director of Hannover 96. In 2011, his contract was changed to an indefinite contract, he joined the executive board as "Geschäftsführer Sport". Hannover had a few successful seasons, both from a sports perspective, as well as financially. For private reasons, Schmadtke reduced his workload and took a couple of weeks timeout in 2012. In April 2013, he asked to terminate his contract. Transfers included Didier Ya Konan, Mohammed Abdellaoue, Lars Stindl, Emanuel Pogatetz, Ron-Robert Zieler, Mame Diouf. After being in short talks with Hamburger SV, he started to work as Co-CEO sports for 1. FC Köln ltd in June 2013. Köln managed to be promoted in the Bundesliga and to improve its sports and financial status since every year.
In April 2017, Schmadtke and Wehrle signed a contract extension until 2023. Transfers included Dominique Heintz, Anthony Modeste, Leonardo Bittencourt, Marco Höger, Jorge Meré. In 2011 and 2017, Schmadtke received the "manager of the year" award, he resigned on 23 October 2017. On 22 May 2018, VfL Wolfsburg announced through twitter the hiring of Schmadtke as the clubs new Director of Sport, he was slated to start on 1 July, however on 1 June, VfL Wolfsburg announced on its web page that he was able to start thanks to a negotiation between 1. FC Köln and VfL Wolfsburg, it was reported in papers that Wolfsburg paid a half-million Euro to Köln to lift the occupational ban, set on Schmadtke, thus allowing him to work one month earlier originally planned. Schmadtke is married to Andrea and the couple have a son, Nils, he played as goalkeeper in the 2. Bundesliga and is now working as scout for 1. FC Köln. Jörg Schmadtke at fussballdaten.de
Kevin Kampl
Kevin Kampl is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Kampl was born in Germany, his parents moved to Germany from a city near the Austrian border in northeastern Slovenia. Kampl has dual citizenship and would have been eligible to play for Germany, but chose Slovenia early on. Kampl began his career with Bayer Leverkusen. After some years in the youth team of Bayer Leverkusen II, he signed for SpVgg Greuther Fürth. On 30 August 2010, he signed a one season loan contract with SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Kampl made his first team debut on 29 October 2010 as a late substitute in a 2. Bundesliga tie with Erzgebirge Aue. After only half a season for Greuther Fürth, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen during the 2010–11 winter transfer window. Kampl made his Leverkusen 2010–11 season debut as a second-half substitute in the UEFA Europa League game against Metalist Kharkiv. In the summer of 2011, Kampl transferred to 3. Liga side VfL Osnabrück. After having played a great season for Osnabrück, he joined newly promoted 2.
Bundesliga club VfR Aalen for a transfer fee of €250,000. However, he played only four matches for Aalen, assisting another three; this marvelous start drew the attention of well-financed Austrian champion Red Bull Salzburg and they acquired him just before the end of the transfer window by fulfilling his release clause in the amount of €3 million. He was nominated for the best player of the Austrian Bundesliga at the beginning of the 2013–14 season, but had to concede to Philipp Hosiner. On 22 December 2014, it was announced that he would join Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract for a €12 million fee on 1 January 2015, he was going to RB Leipzig. He made his debut on 31 January 2015. On 28 April 2015, in the DFB-Pokal semi–final against Bayern Munich, Kampl came on in the 83rd minute for Jakub Błaszczykowski and was sent–off after receiving a second yellow card. On 28 August 2015, Kampl returned to Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal, he made his debut on 12 September 2015 versus SV Darmstadt 98.
On 26 September, Kampl scored his first goal for Leverkusen in a 3–0 away win against Werder Bremen. On 20 October, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–4 home group stage draw against Roma. On 31 August 2017, Kampl joined RB Leipzig on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €20 million. Kampl was a member of the Slovenia national team, he scored his first goal on 6 September 2013 against Albania, which Slovenia won 1–0. Kampl scored his second goal in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against San Marino, the second of their 6–0 win. In October 2016, the Slovenian squad released a statement "condemning Kampl's absence from both games." In response, Kampl stated "Firstly, I always play with pride and happiness for Slovenia and I intend to do so in the future" and secondly, I have made it clear I will be available next time, I just need some rest now." As of match played on 30 March 2019 As of match played 6 September 2018 As of match played 6 September 2018. Slovenia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kampl goal.
Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Bundesliga: 2013–14 Austrian Cup: 2013–14Individual Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2013, 2014 Slovenian international players Kevin Kampl – UEFA competition record Kevin Kampl at kicker.de
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland. At the FIFA World Cup, the current best result for Poland are two bronze medals won in 1974 and 1982, with this era being regarded as the golden era of Polish international association football. At the Euros, Poland's best result is reaching the quarter-finals in 2016, in Poland's third consecutive appearance at the competition. Poland's debut at the Euros was in 2008, they were co-hosts of the 2012 edition, along with Ukraine. Overall, Poland's best result in international football tournaments as a whole was the gold medal won at the 1972 Munich Olympics, along with winning the silver medal on two occasions; the first football federation was established on 25 June 1911 in Lwów as the Polish Football Union. After I World War members of PFU established on 20 December 1919 in Warsaw the Polish Football Federation. Poland would play its first official international match on 18 December 1921 in Budapest, where the side lost to Hungary 1–0.
Their first international win would come on 28 May 1922 where they took on Sweden in Stockholm and beat them 2–1. Poland qualified for their first World Cup in 1937 when they beat Yugoslavia 4–0 and lost 1–0 in the two qualifying matches and ensured their place in the 1938 World Cup in France. During their debut in the World Cup, Poland would play Brazil in a match which would become one of the most memorable matches in World Cup history. Despite Brazil not being regarded as the world's top team in the 1930s, it was still believed to be a hard-to-beat side, having participated in two first World Cups. Under these circumstances, the Polish team – which had never before participated on such a level – was expected to lose the game against the South Americans. Thus, the defeat was not a sensation. However, all fans were surprised at the style with which the Poles played their lone game of the tournament; the white and reds got to the extra time, only losing 5–6. Ernest Wilimowski, who played for Ruch Chorzów at the time, scored four of Poland's five goals, which to date is one of the most impressive individual performances in the history of the World Cup.
Poland played what would be their last international match before the outbreak of World War II against Hungary, the runners-up in the 1938 World Cup. The match stands out as an achievement as Poland defeated the favored Hungarian side 4–2. On 11 June 1946, following the aftermath of World War II, Poland played their first international friendly match, against Norway in Oslo, a 3–1 defeat; the biggest success in the early years after the war was the victory against one of Europe's best at the time, Czechoslovakia. Poland defeated their southern neighbors 3–1. Poland suffered the worst defeat in the team's history on 26 April 1948 with a 0–8 loss to the Danish side. Poland would erase that memory as they posted their second highest victory in Szczecin when they took down Norway 9–0 on 4 September 1963; the game marked the debut for Włodzimierz Lubański. He scored one of the goals in the game. Lubański became the all-time top scorer for Poland while playing from 1963 to 1980 scoring 48 goals in 75 appearances.
This victory was surpassed on 1 April 2009 in Kielce when Poland defeated San Marino 10–0. On 1 December 1970, Polish football history would change forever all due to one man. Kazimierz Górski was named head coach of the national team, his success with the team was evident from the start with a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Górski would lead the team to another medal at the 1976 Olympics where they captured silver. However, nothing matched the two bronze medals at the 1982 World Cups. Poland being unknown on the international football scene before 1974 shook up the football world during the World Cup in Germany. However, this was no huge surprise as the core of the team achieved a gold medal place in the Munich Olympics in 1972; the Olympics were not considered a major tournament by most Western nations, but Eastern European countries bypassed the amateur rules by fielding their full national teams, as most players had employment with national industries or within the army. With their lightning speed and incredible team chemistry they were unstoppable.
In qualifying they surprised everyone by eliminating England, quarter-finalists in 1970 and Champions in 1966. In their opening match of Germany'74 Poland met Argentina, a team, appearing in their 6th World Cup. Within eight minutes Poland were up 2–0, Grzegorz Lato opened the scoring in the seventh minute and just a minute Andrzej Szarmach doubled the lead. In the 60th minute, Argentina cut the lead in half. Two minutes however, Lato scored his second, which turned out to be the winning goal as Carlos Babington gave Argentina their second in the 66th; the match finished 3–2 for Poland. Poland thrashed Haiti 7–0 in their second game; the goals included a hat-trick from two from Lato. In their final match of the first stage, Poland met Italy, who finished second at the previous World Cup in 1970. Poland were through to the Second Round but needed at least a draw to win the group. At half-time, Poland was leading 2 -- 0 on goals from Kazimierz Deyna, it was not until the 86th minute. This gave Poland their third consecutive win.
In the second round, Poland first won 1–0 against a Swedish side, which had not conceded any goals in their first three matches
Czechoslovakia
Israel
Poland
Republic of Ireland
Portugal
Estonia
Latvia
Belarus
Liechtenstein
