Wales v Poland
Poland have qualified for the FIFA World Cup on eight occasions securing third place at both the 1974 and 1982 tournaments.
They have been less succesful in the UEFA European Championships qualifying on four occasions including for the 2012 tournament which they co-hosted with Ukraine. Their best performance coming in the 2016 UEFA European Championships where they reached the quarter final.
The Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej (PZPN) was formed on 20 December 1919 following the dissolution of the Polish Football Union which had been part of the Austrian Football Union between 1911 and 1919.
In 1923, the PZPN became members of FIFA having already played several friendly matches, the first of which was against Hungary in Budapest in December 1921.
Poland were one of the founding members of UEFA in 1954.
Wales' first competitive match against Poland came during the qualifying campaign for the 1974 FIFA World Cup with Leighton James and Trevor Hockey scored Wales' goals to secure a 2-0 win at Ninian Park, Cardiff.
The return fixture in Chorzów saw Hockey become the first player to be sent off whilst playing for the Welsh national team.
Jonathan Williams scored Wales' first goal on Polish soil in the Nations League match in Wrocław in 2022.
The Euro 2024 Qualifying Play Off Final between Wales and Poland was the first time Wales had ever been involved in extra time and penalties.
Head to Head
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Away | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Neutral | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| ALL | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 13 |
Match details
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 306 | 28/03/1973 | Wales 2-0 Poland | L James, Hockey | Ninian Park, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 310 | 26/09/1973 | Poland 3-0 Wales | Stadion Śląski, Chorzów | WCQ | |
| 431 | 30/05/1991 | Poland 0-0 Wales | Stadion Radomiak, Radom | Fr | |
| 495 | 11/10/2000 | Poland 0-0 Wales | Stadion Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego, Warsaw | WCQ | |
| 498 | 02/06/2001 | Wales 1-2 Poland | Blake | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 527 | 13/10/2004 | Wales 2-3 Poland | Earnshaw, Hartson | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 533 | 07/09/2005 | Poland 1-0 Wales | Stadionu Legii, Warsaw | WCQ | |
| 567 | 11/02/2009 | Wales 0-1 Poland | Vila Real, Portugal | Fr | |
| 688 | 01/06/2022 | Poland 2-1 Wales | J. Williams | Tarczyński Arena Wrocław | NL |
| 694 | 25/09/2022 | Wales 0-1 Poland | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | NL | |
| 709 | 26/03/2024 | Wales 0-0 Poland (Poland win 5-4 on Pens) | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | ECQ |
FIFA World Cup 3rd Place (2): 1974, 1982
Welsh players to have made their debut against Poland
Three Welsh players have made their debut for Wales against Poland.
- Dave Roberts - 28 March 1973
- Joe Ledley - 7 September 2005
- Wes Burns - 1 June 2022
