Poland's last appearance at the World Cup before Korea/Japan was in 1986 in Mexico.  The desire to see a Polish team on the world stage again was very great, great enough for Polish officials to rush through the citizenship papers of Nigerian born Emmanuel Olisadebe.  Oli scored in his debut for his adopted nation, a 1-1 friendly draw against Romania.

UEFA Group 5 consisted of Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Norway, Wales, and Armenia.  Many picked Norway to win the group and Poland to fight with Ukraine for second place, with Wales being an outside contender.  Poland's first match took place in Kiev on 2 September 2000, where the Poles ran out 3-1 winners against a stunned Ukraine side.  Olisadebe scored two goals in the game.  On 7 October Poland met Belarus in Łódź and posted another 3-1 win.  Polish fans and the press started dreaming of finally returning to the World Cup.  Four days later Wales dampened the mood by holding Poland to a 0-0 draw in Warsaw.

The qualifying campaign picked up again on 24 March 2001.  Poland travelled to Oslo to play a Norway side that had only managed two home ties and an away loss in their first three.  Olisadebe scored a brace to give Poland a 2-0 lead at half-time.  Norway got two back in the second half to tie it up, but a Bartosz Karwan goal in the 81st minute gave Poland the 3 points.  Poland continued with a 4-0 home win against Armenia and a 2-1 win over Wales in Cardiff.

The team stumbled by only managing a 1-1 away draw against Armenia.  However a 3-0 win over Norway in Chorzow on 1 September 2001, clinched first place in the group for Poland.  It also made Poland the first European nation that qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.  Four days later Poland gave their worst performance of the campaign losing 4-1 away to Belarus.  The last game was a 1-1 home draw against Ukraine.

Emmanuel Olisadebe had scored 8 goals in the qualifying campaign.  Coach Jerzy Engel who took the reigns after Poland failed to qualify for Euro 2000 was a hero.  After 16 years Poland was back at the World Cup.

Although nobody expected Poland to repeat their feats of 1974 and 1982 most fans and the press did expect at least the second round.  Both South Korea and the USA were viewed as teams Poland should win against.  Portugal was another matter but many did not dismiss the possibility of a tie.  Poland's 2-0 friendly loss to Japan three months before the tournament was a warning.

Korea stunned Poland with a 2-0 win.  Portugal did not give the Poles a chance as they strode easily to a 4-0 win and eliminated Poland.  Poland showed what could have been in a 3-1 win over the USA.  Engel blamed the players, but was fired on June 21, 2002.

Korea went on to reach the semi-finals eliminating Italy and Spain along the way.  It was Germany who finally defeated the co-hosts, it was also Germany who eliminated the USA in quarter-finals.  Korea lost 3-2 to Turkey in the third place game.