Germany and Poland resume neighbourly dispute
Friday, January 1, 2016
Article summary
Germany and Poland traded blows in qualifying and will do so again in UEFA EURO 2016 Group C, with Poland boasting plenty of Bundesliga experience in their ranks.
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Germany and Poland know each other well from qualifying, where Poland beat their neighbours for the first time, and no quarter will be offered in their UEFA EURO 2016 Group C rematch.
Previous meetings
• Germany's record in 20 games against Poland is W13 D6 L1 (W5 D2 L1 in competitive encounters.
• Poland finally ended their 18-match winless run against Germany when they defeated the world champions 2-0 in Warsaw during the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign, Arkadiusz Milik and Sebastian Mila getting the goals. The return in Frankfurt ended 3-1 to Joachim Löw's side, who went on to top the group.
• Two Lukas Podolski goals earned Germany a 2-0 victory against the country of his birth at UEFA EURO 2008. Two years earlier, Oliver Neuville's last-minute winner knocked Poland out of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• The teams also met at the first World Cup staged on German soil, in 1974. The hosts triumphed 1-0 thanks to a late strike by Gerd Müller.
EURO facts – Germany
• Germany are competing in their 12th successive EURO since missing out on the final tournament as West Germany, their first attempt, in 1968.
• EURO winners in 1972, 1980 and 1996 – and three-time beaten finalists – Germany have failed to make it through the group stage on three occasions, in 1984, 2000 and 2004.
• Germany's only previous game in Saint-Denis was a 2-0 friendly loss to France on 13 November 2015 – a match overshadowed by the terror attacks in Paris that day.
EURO facts – Poland
• Poland are appearing at their third successive EURO final tournament, but have yet to make it through the group stage. They failed to win a game in their first two finals campaigns: W0 D3 L3.
• Poland's greatest success on the international stage to date is winning bronze medals at the 1974 and 1982 World Cup finals.
• Poland's Robert Lewandowski was the top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, matching a competition record set by Northern Ireland's David Healy in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying.
• Poland scored 33 goals in qualifying – two more than their nearest rivals, England.
Coach and player links
• Play together:
Jérôme Boateng, Mario Götze, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer (Germany) & Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – Bayern
Mats Hummels (Germany) & Jakub Błaszczykowski and Łukasz Piszczek (Poland) – Borussia Dortmund
• Have played together:
Bernd Leno and André Schürrle (Germany) & Arkadiusz Milik (Poland) – Leverkusen, 2013
Jonas Hector (Germany) and Sławomir Peszko (Poland) – Köln, 2012–15
Mats Hummels (Germany) & Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – Dortmund, 2010–14
Mesut Özil (Germany) and Wojciech Szczęsny (Poland) – Arsenal, 2013–15
Mesut Özil (Germany) and Łukasz Fabiański (Poland) – Arsenal, 2013–14
Lukas Podolski (Germany) and Sławomir Peszko (Poland) – Köln, 2011–12
• Podolski was born in Gliwice and also has Polish citizenship; Poland's Kamil Glik has German citizenship. Szukała grew up in Trier and played for 1860 München and Alemannia Aachen.
• Poland's Mariusz Stępiński (Nürnberg, 2013–14) has also played in Germany.
• Of all the foreign players in Bundesliga history, only Giovanne Elber (133) and Claudio Pizarro (190) have scored more goals than Lewandowski.