The Netherlands and Poland do not only both border Germany, their
national teams also emerged on the international scene there, at the
1974 World Cup, both coming from virtually nowhere. Neither had
played at a World Cup since World War II (nor made any real impression
at the European Nations Cups held until then) or indeed ever won a tie
at the tournament when making their first appearance at the world stage
since 36 years.
Nonetheless, the two were widely acclaimed the best sides of the
tournament, in spite of both losing to the hosts – Poland on an
unplayable pitch in what was effectively a semifinal, the Dutch
after taking the lead early, perhaps too early in the final and
subsequently falling victim to hybris.
The first competitive encounters were part of the qualifying tournament for the 1970 World Cup; both ended in narrow home wins but Bulgaria qualified for Mexico thanks to a 1-1 draw in Rotterdam. Next, the Netherlands and Poland were regular opponents in the qualifying stage for the European championship, facing each other in qualifying groups for the 1976, 1980 and 1988 editions. Points were split evenly (both won twice and drew twice in six matches) but invariably the Netherlands qualified while the Poles were left at home. The same happened when the two played each other in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup: Oranje scraped into second place behind Norway and went on to reach the quarterfinals in the United States while Poland (and England, the country they had sensationally eliminated in qualifying for the 1974 World Cup) were left watching television.
All matches listed are friendlies unless otherwise stated.
Game Date Venue Result Remark 1. 1- 5-1968 Warszawa Poland 0-0 Netherlands 2. 7- 5-1969 Rotterdam Netherlands 1-0 Poland [World Cup Qual.] 3. 7- 9-1969 Chorzów Poland 2-1 Netherlands [World Cup Qual.] 4. 10-10-1973 Rotterdam Netherlands 1-1 Poland 5. 10- 9-1975 Chorzów Poland 4-1 Netherlands [European Champ. Qual.] 6. 15-10-1975 Amsterdam Netherlands 3-0 Poland [European Champ. Qual.] 7. 2- 5-1979 Chorzów Poland 2-0 Netherlands [European Champ. Qual.] 8. 17-10-1979 Amsterdam Netherlands 1-1 Poland [European Champ. Qual.] 9. 19-11-1986 Amsterdam Netherlands 0-0 Poland [European Champ. Qual.] 10. 14-10-1987 Zabrze Poland 0-2 Netherlands [European Champ. Qual.] 11. 11- 9-1991 Eindhoven Netherlands 1-1 Poland 12. 14-10-1992 Rotterdam Netherlands 2-2 Poland [World Cup Qual.] 13. 17-11-1993 Poznań Poland 1-3 Netherlands [World Cup Qual.] 14. 4- 6-2000 Lausanne Netherlands 3-1 Poland 15. 1- 6-2016 Gdańsk Poland 1-2 Netherlands 16. 4- 9-2020 Amsterdam Netherlands 1-0 Poland [European Nations League] 17. 18-11-2020 Chorzów Poland 1-2 Netherlands [European Nations League] 18. 11- 6-2022 Rotterdam Netherlands 2-2 Poland [European Nations League] 19. 22- 9-2022 Warszawa Poland 0-2 Netherlands [European Nations League] 20. 16- 6-2024 Hamburg Poland 1-2 Netherlands [European Champ.]
Total record:
Netherlands 20 10 7 3 30- 20 27
Poland 20 3 7 10 20- 30 13
Some more stats:
Pd N D P NG- PG
In the Netherlands: 9 3 6 0 12- 7
In Poland: 9 5 1 3 13- 11
Elsewhere: 2 2 0 0 5- 2
Netherlands - List of International Matches
Poland - List of International Matches
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
Last updated: 16 Jun 2024
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2016/24
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.