Grzegorz Lato was the star of the 1974 tournament in West Germany as he claimed the Golden Boot as top scorer with seven goals.

Poland beat mighty Argentina and Italy, as well as Haiti 7-0, in the first group stage but were just edged out by the hosts in the second phase.

However, Lato ensured they finished on a high with the only goal against holders Brazil in the third/fourth place play-off.

The attacking winger was 32-years-old by the time the 1982 World Cup came around, but he played another major role as Poland again finished third.

Lato finished his career with 95 caps and 42 international goals and also claimed two Polish league titles with Stal Mielec where he played the majority of his club football.

Another key member of Poland's successful 1974 World Cup side was goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski who had infamously been labelled a 'clown' by Brian Clough before a qualifier against England.

But Tomaszewski performed heroically to deny England the draw they needed to progress and put Poland through.

At the tournament itself, he maintained his form by becoming the first goalkeeper to save two penalties in the finals when he denied Sweden's Staffan Tapper and West Germany's Uli Hoeness from the spot.

Tomaszewski played in the Olympic Games in 1976 as Poland claimed a silver medal and featured again in the 1978 World Cup, taking his record to five clean sheets in 11 games at the major tournament.

Some Polish fans argue they might have won the 1982 World Cup had Zbigniew Boniek been available for the semi-final against Italy.

The striker had scored four goals - including a stunning hat-trick against Belgium - up until that stage, but two yellow cards ruled him out of the Italy showdown and without their main danger-man Poland went down 2-0.

Unlike his fellow legends, Boniek was able to shine with one of biggest clubs in Europe following his World Cup exploits as he earned himself a move to Italian giants Juventus.

The striker won the European Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup as well as Italian league and cup medals in a productive spell in Turin.

Boniek later moved into management and became Poland's national coach in July 2002, but resigned just five months later after a series of poor results, to be replaced by current boss Pawel Janas.