Poland V Brazil (1938)
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Brazil v Poland was a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
match held during the
1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...
in France and still remembered by many Polish fans as
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
's first ever FIFA World Cup match. It is also
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
's highest-scoring match in a FIFA World Cup tournament. The match held the record for highest-scoring World Cup match until
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
, when
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
beat
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
7–5. __TOC__


The teams


Brazil

All of the players called up by Adhemar Pimenta traveled to France: *
Batatais Batatais is a municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil. History The settlement became a town and an independent municipality on March 14, 1839, when it was separated from Franca. It became a city in 1875. Washington ...
- goalkeeper (
Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...
) *
Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
- goalkeeper (
Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...
) *
Domingos da Guia Domingos Antônio da Guia (born in Rio de Janeiro, November 19, 1912 – died in Rio, May 18, 2000) was a Brazilian footballer. He played in four matches for Brazil in the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals. He is regarded as one of the best Brazilian ...
- defender (Flamengo) *
Jaú Jaú is a city and municipality in the center of the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, in Brazil. The population is 151,881 (2020 est.) in an area of . The elevation is . The city takes its name from the native fish species ''Gilded catfish ...
- defender (
Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...
) *
Machado Machado is a surname of Portuguese origin meaning "axe" or "hatchet", with the surname attested as far back as the 12th century. It is commonly found in Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Hispanic America, the Philippines, India (former Portuguese colony of ...
- defendfer (Fluminense) * Nariz - defender (
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
) * Afonsinho - midfielder (
São Cristóvão São Cristóvão (, ''Saint Christopher'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern state of Sergipe. Founded at the mouth of the Vaza-Barris River on January 1, 1590, the municipality is ...
) * Argemiro - midfielder (
Portuguesa Santista Portuguesa is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Catalan language, Catalan, and Spanish language, Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to: Places *Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela *Portuguesa (Ri ...
) *
Brandão Brandão (), in English sometimes ''Brandao'' (without the obligatory tilde), is a Portuguese language surname or given name and a place name. It may refer to: Places * Bueno Brandão, Brazil * Caldas Brandão, Brazil * Milton Brandão, Brazil * ...
- midfielder (Corinthians) * Britto - midfielder ( America-RJ) *
Martim Martim is a Portugal, Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Barcelos Municipality, Portugal, Barcelos. The population in 2011 was 2,375, in an area of 5.32 km2. References

Freguesias of Barcelos, Portugal {{braga-geo ...
- midfielder (Botafogo) * Zezé Procópio - midfielder (Botafogo) * Hércules - forward (Fluminense) *
Leônidas Leonidas was the king of Sparta who ruled c. 489–480 BC, and who led the allied Greek forces in a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae. Leonidas may also refer to: People Antiquity *Leonidas I, Greek king of Sparta, ruled c. 489–4 ...
- forward (Flamengo) * Lopes - forward (Corinthians) * Luisinho - forward ( Palestra Italia) *
Niginho Leonídio Fantoni, best known as Niginho or Fantoni III (born in Belo Horizonte, 12 February 1912 – died 5 September 1975) was a professional association footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Biography His Itali ...
- forward (
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
) *
Patesko Rodolpho Barteczko (12 November 1910 – 13 March 1988), best known as ''Patesko'', was a Brazilian footballer who played striker. He was born in Curitiba, Brazil and died in Rio de Janeiro. Of Polish origin, in his career (1930–1943) h ...
- forward (Botafogo) * Perácio - forward (Botafogo) * Roberto - forward (São Cristóvão) *
Romeu Pellicciari Romeu Pellicciari, also known as ''Romeu'' (born in Jundiai, March 26, 1911 – died in São Paulo, July 15, 1971) was an association footballer in striker role. Of Italian origin, during his career (1928–1944) he played for União ...
- forward (Fluminense) * Tim - forward (Fluminense) Out of those, Batatais, Walter, Machado, Argemiro, Lopes, Perácio, Romeu Pellicciari, Hércules and Zezé Procópio had never played any matches for the national team before.


Poland

To
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where Poland was going to play its first game versus
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
(5 June 1938), Kałuża and Spoida took 15 players: * Ewald Dytko - midfielder (
Dąb Katowice Dąb Katowice was a Polish sports club from the Upper Silesian capital of Katowice. Founded in 1911 as Sport Verein Eiche (in what was then the mining village of Dąb, Katowice, Domb located in the Province of Upper Silesia, German Empire), the c ...
), *
Antoni Gałecki Antoni Gałecki (4 June 1906 – 14 December 1958) was a Polish footballer who played as a defender, spending most of his career with ŁKS Łódź. He also played on the Poland national team during the 1936 Berlin Olympics and Poland's 1938 FIF ...
- defender (
ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, ...
), *
Wilhelm Góra Wilhelm Antoni Góra (18 January 1916 – 21 May 1975) was a Polish footballer who played as a midfielder. His career started in Szarlej - a small hamlet located near Bytom. After some years, he moved to Pogoń Katowice (which no longer exists) ...
- midfielder (
Cracovia Cracovia is the Latin name for the Polish city of Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesse ...
), * Edward Madejski - goalkeeper (not representing any club at that time), * Erwin Nyc - midfielder (
Polonia Warszawa Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contrac ...
), * Władysław Szczepaniak - defender (
Polonia Warszawa Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contrac ...
), * Leonard Piontek - forward (
AKS Chorzów AKS Chorzów is a sports club based in Chorzów, Poland. It is one of the earliest sports organizations in Upper Silesia and is still well known nationally for its football and handball teams. The club also made its mark on the international stag ...
), *
Ryszard Piec Ryszard Leon Piec (born Richard Leon Pietz; 17 August 1913 – 24 January 1979) was a Polish footballer who played as a dorward. Piec spent his entire career in his native town of Lipiny, which now today is a district of Świętochłowice, in U ...
- forward (
Naprzód Lipiny ŚKS Naprzód Lipiny is a sports club from Świętochłowice's district of Lipiny (Upper Silesia, Poland), founded in 1920 by Alfons Maniura, who became Naprzód's first chairman. Throughout the years, the club changed its name many times. Fro ...
), * Wilhelm Piec - forward (Naprzód Lipiny), *
Fryderyk Scherfke Friedrich Egon (Fritz) Scherfke, (; 7 September 1909 – 15 September 1983) was a footballer who played as a forward. An ethnic German, he represented the Poland national team. He is still one of the all time leading goalscorers of all time in ...
- forward (Warta Poznań), *
Ernest Wilimowski Ernest Otton Wilimowski (, born Ernst Otto Prandella; 23 June 1916 – 30 August 1997), nicknamed "Ezi", was a footballer who played as a forward. He ranks among the best goalscorers in the history of both the Poland national team and Polish cl ...
- forward (
Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland, having won fourteen List of Polish football champions, Polish Championship ...
), *
Gerard Wodarz Gerard Wodarz (10 August 1913 – 8 November 1982) was a Polish footballer who played as a striker. One of the best players of interwar Poland, he was a multiple champion of the country (representing Ruch Wielkie Hajduki, which in January 1939 ...
- forward (Ruch Chorzów), *
Walter Brom Walter Henryk Brom (14 January 1921 – 18 June 1968) was a Polish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Brom, who played for Ruch Chorzów, was a reserve player of Polish team at the 1938 FIFA World Cup. He was (and to this day is) the younges ...
- goalkeeper (Ruch Chorzów), *
Edmund Giemsa Edmund Giemza (Giemsa) (16 October 1912 – 30 September 1994) was a Polish footballer. Initially a forward, he played as a defender in the latter stage of his career. He was born on 16 October 1912 in Upper Silesian city of Ruda Śląska and ...
- midfielder (Ruch Chorzów), *
Stanisław Baran Stanisław Franciszek Baran (26 April 1920 – 12 May 1993) was a Polish footballer who played as a forward. He started his career in Resovia Rzeszów, then, sometime in 1938 (at the age of around 18) moved to KS Warszawianka. Regarded as one o ...
- midfielder (
Warszawianka Warszawa Klub Sportowy Warszawianka is a Polish multi-sport club from Warsaw. It has several sections, including handball, track and field, fencing and tennis, and in the past it had several more, including a football team which competed in the Polish to ...
). On the roster, there were two athletes who had never before played for Poland - midfielder Stanisław Baran and goalkeeper Walter Brom (who was then 17 years and 4 months old - up to this day Brom is the youngest goalkeeper on FIFA's World Cup list of participants). In Poland, on stand-by reserve, seven players stayed behind. Those were: *
Ewald Cebula Edward Cebula (also known as Ewald; 22 March 1917 – 1 February 2004) was a Polish football player and manager. He played in five matches for the Poland national team as well as one match representing Poland at the Olympic Games. He started in ...
(
Śląsk Świętochłowice Śląsk Świętochłowice (full name: Miejski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Świętochłowice) is a Polish sports club based in Świętochłowice, Upper Silesia, known for its motorcycle speedway and Association football, football teams. Name Its name c ...
), *
Józef Korbas Józef Franciszek Korbas (11 November 1914 – 2 October 1981) was a Polish Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He played for KS Cracovia, Cracovia and the Poland national football team, Pola ...
(Cracovia Kraków), * Kazimierz Lis (
Warta Poznań Warta Poznań () is a multi-sports club based in Poznań, Poland. The name means ''the Guard'' in Polish and also the name of the river Warta on which Poznań is located. As of the 2025–26 II liga, 2025–26 season, they compete in the II liga, ...
), * Edmund Tworz (Warta Poznań), *
Antoni Łyko Antoni Andrzej Łyko (27 May 1907 – 3 June 1941) was a Polish footballer who played as a striker. When playing for Wisła Kraków, he was a member of the Poland national football team for the 1938 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not actually ...
(
Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...
) *
Bolesław Habowski Bolesław Józef Habowski (13 September 1914 – 21 May 1979) was a Polish footballer who played as a forward. Having spent the majority of his career at Wisła Kraków, he also represented the Poland national team. Habowski's debut in the nat ...
(Wisła Kraków), *
Jan Wasiewicz Jan Karol Wasiewicz (6 January 1911 – 9 November 1976) was a Polish footballer who played as a midfielder. From 1935 to 1938, he played for the Poland national team. His career started in 1926 in another Lwów team – RKS. In 1929, he moved ...
(
Pogoń Lwów LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów, Lwów Voivodeship (now Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the L ...
).


Preparations


Brazil

By 1930s, Brazil was not yet regarded as the world's top team. The team had participated in the two first World Cups, but with lackluster performances and preparations marred by behind-the-scenes infighting: In 1930, the São Paulo football federation fell out with CBD and refused to provide any of its players to the national team, and the Brazilian team, composed solely of players from
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
clubs, was eliminated in the group stage after a loss to Yugoslavia. In 1934, the country's football was undergoing a schism between professionals and amateurs, with CBD on the amateurs' side, and as a result, the squad was composed of
Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
(the only team of significance that remained amateur) players supplemented with players from professional teams hired by CBD to play on the World Cup. The team once again fell on the first stage, losing to Spain by 3-1. However, the preparation for 1938 had been calm and free of internal disputes, and the team had qualified to the tournament by default after its opponent, Argentina, withdrew from the qualification. so, Brazil, coming for the first time with maximum strength, was believed to be a very good, high quality team. The Brazilians later proved it - after defeating
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
(4-2) they finished the 1938 tournament in 3rd place. It was this performance that gained them their reputation and marked the beginning of Brazil as a new football power. As the shirts of both teams at the time were white, Brazil played with its improvised training uniform, without embroidered shields and in a different shade of blue than the shorts. It was the first time that Brazil wore blue in an official match, which would only be repeated in the 1958 final.


Poland

The Polish team, on its end, had played its qualification matches against
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. After winning by 4-0 in Warsaw, they lost the return match in Belgrade by 1-0 and advanced on goal difference. Interesting is the fact that the Polish team was gathered together just a week before the game. This was due to the Polish Football League games - coaches of the teams did not want their best players to leave their sides earlier because in the 1930s, like majority of world's athletes then, most Polish athletes were amateurs - they had to work on a daily basis. Thus, the training camp in
Wągrowiec Wągrowiec () is a town in west-central Poland, from both Poznań and Bydgoszcz. Since the 18th century it has been the seat of a powiat. Administratively it is attached to the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The town is situated in the middle of th ...
(near
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
) lasted for a week only - just enough for some players to get acquainted with each other. A few days before the game, the Poles got into the train and went to Strasbourg. The team that was called up to the Cup was largely the same as the one that had played in the qualification, with only keeper
Adolf Krzyk Adolf Krzyk (25 December 1907 – 12 September 1987) was a Polish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Moravská Ostrava, Krzyk played football until he retired with Orzeł Niemodlin in 1953. Krzyk represented both Brygada Czę ...
and striker Jerzy Wostal absent from the final list. by then, relatively few players still remained from the team that had reached fourth place in the 1936 Olympics. Under these circumstances, the Polish team, which had never before advanced to 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 its lone game of the tournament - white-reds got to the extra time, only then losing 5-6. Originally, the game was supposed to take place in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, in southern France. Polish officials, however, issued a complaint stating that the sweltering heat there would be helpful for the Brazilians, who are used to such weather. The game's location was moved to Strasbourg, but not because of the complaint. There were numerous, last moment corrections before the whole tournament. This was due to complications after the withdrawal of
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, which after the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
was incorporated into
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.


Match


Summary


First half

At exactly 17:00, Swedish referee
Ivan Eklind Ivan Henning Hjalmar Eklind (15 October 1905 – 23 July 1981) was a referee (association football), football referee from Sweden best known for officiating the 1934 FIFA World Cup final between Italy national football team, Italy and Czechoslova ...
blew his whistle for the first time. Strasbourg's
Stade de la Meinau The Stade de la Meinau (), commonly known as "la Meinau", is a football (soccer), football stadium in Strasbourg, France. It is the home ground of Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, RC Strasbourg and has also hosted international matches, includi ...
was filled with some 15,000 fans, including a several thousand group of Poles - mostly immigrants, who worked in coal mines in northern France. Brazilian fans were not numerous, and the French were mostly rooting for exotic team from South America. Back in those days, teams were mainly concentrated on attack. So it is not surprising that in Kałuża's lineup there were as many as five forwards (Piec, Wilimowski, Wodarz, Piątek and Scherfke). Midfielders were Góra, Nyc and Dytko, and the defenders - only Szczepaniak (captain) and Gałecki. In the goal there was Madejski. Brazil also played with the same scheme, with Batatais on the goal, Domingos da Guia and Machado on the defence, Zezé Procópio, Martim and Affonsinho as midfielders, and as forwards, Lopes, Romeu, Leônidas, Perácio and Hércules. It must be mentioned that in 1938, football regulations did not allow any replacements. As Poland lost the game vs. Brazil (5–6), which meant going back home, only the 11 players mentioned above were given the chance to appear on the field. Out of the 22 Brazilian players called up, only Niginho wouldn't have the opportunity to play on the following matches. Little is known about the first goal, which Brazil's Leônidas (also known as Black Diamond-Diamante Negro) scored in 18th minute. There was no description of it in Polish press, Polish participants of the game did not remember it, either. However, it was reported that five minutes later, Ernst Wilimowski dribbled past three defenders and Brazilian keeper Batatais. The latter managed to push the Pole to the ground, which meant a penalty kick; it was scored in the 23rd minute by Scherfke, who aimed at the right corner of the goal. This was the first, historical goal of the Poland national team at a FIFA World Cup.


Second half

After the first half, the Brazilians were winning 3–1 (goals by Leonidas, Romeu and Peracio) and the Poles were mainly in defense. Halftime was the turning point. First of all, Kałuża yelled loudly at his players, then it started to rain. South Americans were having problems on wet, slippery turf, while Wilimowski started his show. In 53rd and then 59th minute, Poland's top-scorer twice beat Batatais, after individual performances, which were described in the press as “circus-like”. So, in 59th minute the score was 3–3. Soon afterwards, the rain stopped. It was a boost for the Brazilians, who in 71st minute scored (by Peracio). However, a minute before time Wilimowski scored his third goal, which meant extra time.


Extra time

After a short break, the Brazilians attacked the Polish goal. Two goals by Leonidas (in 93rd and 104th minutes) settled the game for good. Poles, led by amazing Wilimowski, fought back - in the 118th minute he slotted the ball in. During the last minutes, Brazil was desperately defending the result. Even though Wodarz, on a free kick, was close, and then Nyc's shot hit a crossbar, Poland lost 5–6. Leonidas' goal at 93" was scored without him wearing the right boot, which tore and was left off his foot in the swampy pitch. The goal was given though, as Brazil played the match with black socks and thus (also due to all the mud which covered the pitch resulting of the rain beforehand), the lack of a boot went undetected by the referee.


Details


Aftermath

The match has some cultural significance in both countries. For Brazil, they went on to win the third place match, after losing to the Italians in the semi-finals. The 3rd place occupation by Brazil was seen to be Brazil's greatest football achievement by the time, and helped boosting football's popularity in the country. It was the 1938 edition that Brazil started to rise to become a football superpower, although it took them 20 years to finally win their first World Cup, against the
hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...
. It was Poland's first and only World Cup match in the
Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. Poland was later invaded by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
a year later, and Poland suffered significant destruction of its sporting developments, including football. Following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
was established under
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's control. Thus, Polish football did not make any major impact until their return in
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
, where the Poles surprised the whole tournament by achieving third place, by taking vengeance on the Brazilians in their final match. Polish golden generation by then, was born. Brazil and Poland would meet each other three more times in the FIFA World Cup (1-0 for Poland in 1974, 3-1 to Brazil in 1978 and 4-0 for Brazil in 1986).


See also

*
Battle of Bordeaux (1938 FIFA World Cup) The Battle of Bordeaux (, , ) is an informal name for the World Cup football match between Brazil and Czechoslovakia on 12 June 1938 in the Parc Lescure in Bordeaux, France, one of the quarter-finals of the 1938 World Cup finals. The match had a ...
*
History of football in Poland Football is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally and 27% being very interested in it. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Pola ...
*
1938 FIFA World Cup squads Below are the squads for the 1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament in France. Hungary and Switzerland were the only teams who had players from foreign clubs. Both of such players represented French clubs. Nine selected players by Germany came fro ...
*
Polish football in the interwar period The interwar period of Polish football began in the late fall of 1918 after First World War, when Poland regained independence, which had been lost at the end of 18th century ''(see: Partitions of Poland)''. The newly created country soon started to ...
*
Brazil at the FIFA World Cup This article summarizes the results and overall performance of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup, including the qualification phase and the final phase, officially called the World Cup finals. The qualification phase, which currently takes place over ...
* Poland at the FIFA World Cup


References

{{Poland national football team matches 1938 FIFA World Cup Association football matches in France
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
FIFA World Cup matches
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
Brazil at the 1938 FIFA World Cup Poland at the 1938 FIFA World Cup Sports competitions in Strasbourg 20th century in Strasbourg June 1938 sports events in Europe