Polish footballers with a win against Sweden on Wednesday evening in St. Petersburg will secure promotion to the 1/8 finals of Euro 2020. The Polish team has a score to settle with the Three Crowns.
The Poles survived the Swedish deluge, but Wednesday’s match at the European Championships will be an opportunity for revenge not only for the historical conflict but above all for the football traumas that the fans of the red and white team have suffered in recent failures.
It was October 1999. A draw was enough for our players to advance to the barracks for Euro 2000. A modest 0:0 at the Råsunda Stadium in Solna near Stockholm was enough, but the Swedes spoiled our day and we lost after goals from Kennet Andersson and Henrik Larsson. After this defeat, the manager Janusz Wójcik ended his cooperation with the national team.
It was even worse in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Three Crowns not only beat the Polish national team twice (5:0 in the two-match series), but in the last round, they sensationally lost 0:1 at home to Latvia. This surprising result once again eliminated the Poles, who won against Hungary in Budapest 2:1 in a parallel game and gave a bonus to the Swedes and Latvians.
“I remember well those eliminations. We did our part, and what they did… It was a shock and surprise looking at those teams and the result of the Swedes and Latvians. For Sweden, it should have been a walk, but they lost 0:1 and we lost our chance to advance to the Euro,” mentioned Tomasz Kłos in an interview with Niezalezna. pl website.
Even the best Polish team in history did not have it easy with the Three Crowns. At the World Cup in 1974, we won 1:0 after Grzegorz Lata’s goal, but this victory would not have been possible without Jan Tomaszewski. The goalkeeper of the legendary team led by Kazimierz Górski even defended the penalty kick taken by Staffan Tapper.
“Swedes are no match for us, it’s always been tough with them, even we had a tough time with them,” said Niezalezna. pl website Grzegorz Lato, who at the World Cup in Germany reached for the crown of the king of scorers.
Will the team led by Paulo Sousa break this stereotype? The former president of the Polish Football Association keeps his fingers crossed that it will happen and predicts a minimal victory of the Poles in Saint Petersburg. The Swedes are already sure of their participation in the 1/8 finals. Our players need a win to advance from the group.