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Poland sports a fairly respectable World Cup record, having appeared in a half-dozen tournaments since 1938 when they lost a shootout to Brazil a year before being invaded by Germany.

In fact, only Sweden and Poland have finished third the most times outside of the top winners in 17 tournaments. Between '74 and '86, Poland lost in the second round twice and finished third twice.

Ending a 16-year drought, Poland entered the 2002 World Cup with high hopes after losing only once in its last 15 international matches. The turnaround was largely attributed to Emmanuel Olisadebe, a Nigerian-born striker who became a citizen in '00 and scored eight goals as the team qualified easily.

"Poland without Oli would be a totally different team," Coach Jerzy Engel said. Critics said the team lacked a strong midfield and had trouble with positional play, putting pressure on Oli to take advantage of counter attacks.

The critics proved correct -- Poland gave a lackluster performance and exited after the first round.

Olisadebe, quick and powerful, remains on the squad. But Engel was replaced by Pawel Janas, who is optimistic after Poland qualified as one of the two best European runners-up from a weak group.

Even the most diehard supporters were pleasantly surprised at their team's success. Despite losing its home-and-away confrontations to England, it won the other eight qualifying matches.

>From Janas' circle of established players, strikers Maciej Zurawski and Tomas Frankowski amassed a total of 14 goals during qualifying matches. The team had one less goal than England's 25 -- among three teams that scored the most during qualifying.

Janas is upbeat about his team's chances: "It will be difficult. It's a pity we didn't get the opening match (against Germany). We've improved quite a bit as a team and hope we can perform better than in the past.

"We can surprise people. That's a big motivation for everyone on the squad, even for players like me who weren't involved in 2002.

"We want to show the world that we're not a weak team who don't need to be taken seriously. That was how we looked to everyone four years ago, I know, but I believe that we could surprise people this time."

Two of three goalkeepers likely to make the trip to Germany agree. Jerzy Dudek said, "We want to make new history."

Arthur Boruca said, "I'm happy with the draw. I think it's as easy as we could have hoped for. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I think we have a big chance to qualify from that group. Sure, Germany will be favorites because they're the home nation, but that brings pressure, too.

"Anyway, Poland, as everyone knows, is very, very close to Germany, so this is almost like a home tournament for us as well. I think we should have a lot of our fans coming to see us, that's for sure, and I believe it's a big opportunity for us."

Janas is relying on a high-scoring attack. Outstanding veterans who stepped to the forefront to help Poland qualify are Zurawski and Frankowski, who scored seven goals each. Frankowski will probably be the focal point of the attack. A favorite of the Polish fans, he earned the nickname "The Goals Hunter."

"Janas says our aim is to qualify from the group and make the last 16, Robert Blonski wrote for Poland's largest newspaper. "If we do it we will have made progress, if not it will be disaster again. There are no stars on the team, but the coach gets the best out of them. Nobody knows how, but he does."

Among other players expected to contribute are:

Defender Tomasz Klos, team captain and a favorite of Engel on the '02 team, who is equally competent on the attack and defending.

Midfielder Jacek Krzynowek, who led Poland to a 3-1 victory over the United States for the only win in the '02 tournament.

Midfielder Kamil Kosowski, who can operate on either flank and is considered a difficult winger for defenders.

Poland World Cup 2006 Odds: Poland stands the best chance against Germany in Group A. But it's 95/1 to win the tournament, according to the average odds of 19 sports books.

Strengths: Despite absence of stars, the team doesn't lack for goals. In this case, the best defense is a good offense.

Weaknesses: Unfortunately, Poland isn't so good on defense, conceding too many sloppy goals. Much improvement is a must.

Poland World Cup 2006 Outlook: The Poles are no pushovers and appear the best of the rest behind Germany. Some experts believe the key match will be against Costa Rica to decide which team advances to the second round.

Poland World Cup 2006 First Round Match Schedule (all times local):

Wednesday, June 9, Group 3A Poland vs. Group 4A Ecuador, Gelsenkirchen, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, June 14, Group 1A Germany vs. Group 3A Poland, Dortmund, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, June 20, Group 2A Costa Rica vs. Group 3A Poland, Hanover, 4 p.m.

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