“It will be a challenge for which we have to prepare well,” said Michniewicz. She spoke with the same determination in the eighty-second group around the popular offensive all-rounder Zbigniew Boniek, who had the transfer of a lifetime from Łódź to Juventus in front of him. The Poles could reach for a bronze medal after eight years from the World Cup, but dangerous France stood in the way.
Fortunately for Boniek et al. The French had a bitter semi-final with West Germany. Sevilla saw one of the best matches in the history of football: after 90 minutes it was 1-1 and in extra time France jumped to a two-goal blockbuster, but the Germans managed to equalize and survive a penalty shootout.
“Disappointment is an understatement,” breathed the French coach Michel Hidalgo at the time. The stars, led by the later three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini, were devastated and did not enter the game for third place, which helped the Poles. Although they lost in Alicante, they managed to turn it around to 3: 1. Alain Couriol’s shot didn’t solve anything, Poland celebrated bronze.
Now it is the turn of the team with the wizard Robert Lewandowski. The world medal from Spain 82 is the last for the Poles so far: since then their biggest success has been reaching the quarter-finals of EURO 2016, where they were stopped by eventual champions Portugal.
The men in red and white in Qatar started with a goalless draw with Mexico, and a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia later proved to be a breakthrough. Although Poland lost 0:2 in the holiday match against Argentina, they could take solace in the fact that they were the first in the tournament to save Lionel Messi.
The next test of the Polish defense will be the round of 16 with France. Even without the convalescent Karim Benzema, the last world champions scored six goals in the championship and will be favorites on Sunday afternoon. Not only because the Poles have only managed to beat them three times so far.
“After 36 years, we got out of the group at the World Cup and now we are facing one of the best teams in the world with first-class players and the highest ambitions,” coach Michniewicz bowed to the French. They deployed three observers on his team in the match against Argentina.
“Lewandowski stands out, but the power of the Poles is not only about him. We will not underestimate them,” French coach Didier Deschamps said.
