A brutal lesson for the Polish national team. That’s why we’re not at the World Cup

The Swiss are consistent. The mentioned failure, which can be referred to with a slight tear in your eye, took place a decade ago. Then, during the memorable Euro 2016, Poland won a pass to the quarterfinals of the most important event on the Old Continent. The Swiss then lost after a series of penalties.

However, if we look more broadly at the current situation in Polish and Swiss football, we can only envy the Helvetii. The mentioned consistency, that’s for sure.

Switzerland in the 1/8 finals of the FIFA World Cup. And why aren’t they Poles?

Focusing only on the World Cup, in the 21st century Switzerland has failed to appear in the final tournament only once. This took place in 2002. Since then, the next six football World Cups have included the Helvetii. Moreover, adding the win over Algeria (2-0) on Friday (July 3) morning, the Swiss will play in the 1/8 finals for the fourth time in a row.

Will they break this barrier? This cannot be ruled out, because at this stage of the tournament they will face the winner of the Colombia-Ghana match. Both teams are solid, but the same can be said about the Swiss team.

What is the key to the Swiss success? It’s regularity. Switzerland has almost always taken part in the finals of the World and European Championships in the last two decades. Poles also have a high presence rate in this respect, but if we look deeper into the structure of the functioning of the football idea, the visions between Poland and Switzerland are very different.

The most important element? It seems that consistency in the context of the coach’s job. In the 21st century, Switzerland had just four coaches. They were: Jakub Kuhn, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Vladimir Petković and the current Murat Yakin. For comparison, at the same time the Polish national team was led by… as many as 14 different coaches!

Yakin took over the team after Euro 2020, which was played out of necessity (COVID-19 pandemic) in 2021. During the European Championship 2024, the Helvetii managed to reach the quarterfinals of the event, achieving a result that… has been talked about in Poland for a decade, remembered with sentiment. The difference, however, is that Switzerland wants to take the next step.

To make things less sweet, the above-mentioned victory in the round of 16 against Algeria is Switzerland’s first victory at the World Cup in the knockout phase since… 1954! However, the Helvetii defeated the Algerians very confidently and can now look to the future.

And this doesn’t look negative, especially if you have such gems as Johan Manzambi. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has the credentials to play really big. Its value has already exceeded EUR 50 million. The footballer usually defends the colors of the German team Freiburg – the finalist of the UEFA Europa League in the 2025/26 season.

World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?

From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.

The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay.

The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).

Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.