POLAND AND WILIMOWSKI's ELEVEN TOES

On 18 December 1921, Poland played their first official international, a 1-0 loss to Hungary. It was a humble start for a team that would later claim an Olympic gold medal and twice finish in third place at the World Cup.

The Polish national team was only 2 years old when they lost to Hungary, having been founded in December 1919. It would take another 5 months before the Poles recorded their first victory, beating Sweden 2-1 in Stockholm. By the 1930s, however, they had improved rapidly, led by prolific goalscorer Ernst Wilimowski (pictured left and with the ball). Even without Wilimowski, who was suspended for a year for excessive partying, Poland nearly medaled at the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth after wins over Hungary and Great Britain. Poland's achievements include a Gold Medal victory at the 1972 Summer Olympics, beating neighbours Hungary 2-1 following that achievement with a third place in 1974 and a third place in the 1982 World Cup.

Ernst ranks among the best goalscorers in the history of both the Polish national team and Polish club football. "Ezi" earned his first cap for Poland when he debuted against Denmark in Copenhagen on 21 May 1934 in a 2-4 loss: he was just 17 years and 332 days old. After re-taking German citizenship following the invasion of Poland, he also played for the German national team. 

Wilimowski scored over 1077 total goals in at least 688 total matches, making him the 14th greatest goalscorer of all time. Wilimowski, who had six toes on his right foot, played on the left side as a forward and showed himself to be a very skilled dribbler as well as a natural goalscorer. 

International career
1934–1939	Poland	22	(21)
1934–1939	Silesia	6	(7)
1941–1942	Germany	8	(13)

Wilimowski was the first player to score four goals in a single FIFA World Cup game. He is the most prolific goalscorer in official matches in one season in recorded history, with 107 goals scored in 45 matches. Wilimowski also occasionally played ice hockey for the team, Pogoń Katowice.

Below is Wilimowski on the ball.