England’s fourth World Cup 2014 qualifier is bound to be a real test of their credentials.
Total Football’s Simon Wright picks out 15 trivial facts ahead of the clash in Warsaw on Tuesday evening.
1. In the last 17 international meetings between the two sides, England have won 10 matches, drawn six and lost just one.
2. The Poles haven’t defeated the Three Lions since 1973 when Sir Alf Ramsey’s side were beaten 2-0 at the Silesian Stadium.
3. Six of the last seven meetings between England and Poland have ended in England victories. The only exception was a 0-0 draw in Poland during qualification for Euro 2000.
4. Just eight of the Polish squad for this match play their domestic football in Poland. The whole of England’s side is based in the Premier League.
5. Should they feature, Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard will win their 99th caps for their country respectively.
6. The only side to beat England over 90 minutes in 2012 is Holland. The Dutch won an international friendly at Wembley 3-2 at the beginning of March.
7. After an embarrassing 1-0 friendly loss to Estonia in August, Poland are unbeaten in their last three internationals, including a 1-0 friendly win last Friday against South Africa.
8. England currently sit fifth in the FIFA World rankings while Poland languish down in 54th place, behind Libya, Panama and Venezuela but ahead of Scotland, Nigeria and Cameroon.
9. Like Roy Hodgson’s side, Poland have an unbeaten record in qualification so far. They began with a 2-2 away draw in Montenegro before unconvincingly seeing off Moldova 2-0.
10. After his two goals on Friday against San Marino, Danny Welbeck (pictured) is now the leading scorer in the Hodgson England tenure. The Manchester United striker has scored four times.
11. In international history with Poland, England have only conceded 10 goals and scored 27.
12. A huge blow for the home side will be the absence of skipper Jakub Blaszczykowski. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has an ankle injury and will miss out.
13. The man in charge of the hosts is Waldermar Fornalik, who took over in July after Poland finished bottom of Group A at Euro 2012. Poland are regular tournament qualifiers but haven’t escaped a group stage since the World Cup in Mexico 1986.
14. Wayne Rooney’s double against San Marino saw him move into fifth place on the England all-time scoring charts with 31 goals. Only Sir Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker, Jimmy Greaves and Michael Owen have scored more times for the Three Lions.
15. England have been awarded a penalty in each of their three World Cup qualifiers so far. Fortunately, they have all been converted successfully by either Frank Lampard or Rooney.
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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