The Polish team walked onto London’s Wembley stadium on the evening of October 17, 1973, needing a point against the hosts England to make it to the World Cup in Germany the following summer, the state PAP news agency noted on Tuesday.
The Poles took the lead in the 57th minute, when centre forward Jan Domarski finished off a cross from the winger Grzegorz Lato, according to news outlets.
Britain’s The Times newspaper ranked Domarski’s strike among the 50 most important goals in the history of football, PAP noted.
England fought back, with striker Allan Clarke equalising a few minutes later from the penalty spot.
The home team fired a total of 36 shots on the Polish goal, but Poland held on to earn a 1-1 draw that meant they qualified for the 1974 World Cup, the Polish football association (PZPN) wrote.
Jan Tomaszewski, Poland’s goalkeeper on the night, told PAP on Tuesday: “Poland has yet to repeat what we achieved at Wembley, and later at the World Cup in Germany.”
The Poles finished the 1974 World Cup in third place, behind West Germany and the Netherlands, after beating the likes of Argentina, Italy and Brazil along the way, PZPN noted.
Grzegorz Lato was the tournament’s top scorer with 7 goals, while central defender Władysław Żmuda won the Best Young Player award, news outlets noted.
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Source: PAP, PZPN, FIFA