Rewind: Germany Edges Poland In Emotional World Cup 2006 Tie

On Saturday, Poland beat Germany for the first time in their history to take control of Euro 2016 qualifying Group D. The match, which ended 2-0, featured goals from Milik and substitute Mila, and marked the first time the Poles beat their neighbors in 19 attempts.

One of those attempts was during the group stages of World Cup 2006. The Germans and the Poles found themselves in Group A with Ecuador and Costa Rica, with Poland and Ecuador vying for the second spot into the last 16. With this in mind, the Poles arrived in Dortmund to stymie the hosts, who fielded five of the players who would go on to win the World Cup 2014.

Germany 1-0 Poland

Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany

June 14, 2006

In front of a home crowd of 65,000, the Germans dominated possession but couldnai??i??t take the lead, with Miroslav Klose coming close on two occasions in the first 15 minutes. In the tenth minute, Michael Ballack played a lovely pass in to the surging Klose, who shot it straight into the goalkeeperai??i??s arms. Eleven minutes later, then-23-year-old Philipp Lahm chipped the ball neatly over several Polish defenders, only for Klose to misjudge his header. Ruing his missed chances, the striker kicked the post in frustration.

Germanyai??i??s other Polish-born attacker, Lukas Podolski, also had a few chances in the first half, coming from passes from Lahm, who had a brilliant game. On the other end, Jens Lehmann had relatively little to do, but as the game wore on, the Germans grew increasingly frustrated, the Poles increasingly hopeful for a point against the favorites.

However, the game changed in the 75^th minute when Polish midfielder Radoslaw Sobolewski was sent off for a second yellow after he brought down a charging Klose in a professional foul. Reduced to ten men, the Poles hung on desperately for the draw for the last 15 minutes, and their keeper, Boruc, made a series of fantastic saves against Klose and the veteran Oliver Neuville. JA?rgen Klinsmann brought on pacey attacker David Odonkor in the last 20 minutes, who injected fresh legs and creativity into the increasingly frustrated side.

Germany didnai??i??t seem able to convert their numerical advantage into goals, and Boruc looked to be the hero of the day, making save after save that put the Poles in a better position to fight back against Ecuador. The fourth official announced two minutes of stoppage time. With just a few seconds left to go, Odonkor sped down the right flank to cross the ball into Neuville, who got his toes onto the ball just enough to fire it past Boruc. Dortmund erupted, the players mobbed Neuville, and Poland lost a hard-fought, emotional tie.

Poland didnai??i??t make it out of the group, and they havenai??i??t been to the World Cup since, whereas Germany finished in third, falling to Italy 2-0 in the same stadium in the semifinal. The Poland game was the first time Germany won a World Cup game through a stoppage time goal. Before that, the Germans had only ever won three matches with goals in the last five minutes, and Neuville scored one of those as well. Finally, Sobolewskiai??i??s red card was the fourth of a tournament that has become known for a record number of disciplinary cards.