1972. That was the last time Poland won any kind of football tournament, when they clinched gold at the Olympics that year. The White Eagles also managed to finish third at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups, but since then, they've experienced nothing but disappointment.
Poland's last two Euro tournaments ended quite early. In fact, during their debut in 2008 and in 2012 when they co-hosted it with Ukraine, they were out by the time the group stages ended.
Well, 2016 is very different. This time, they did not just clear the group stages, but finished second, which set them up for their first ever knockout encounter with Switzerland. And after showing nerves of steel to defeat La Nati on spot-kicks, Adam Nawalka's men have now set up a tussle with Portugal in their debut quarter-finals appearance.
But do they have a chance? Let's check out a couple of reasons why Poland could have a chance at ousting Portugal later today:
A tough defense
Not many sides can say that they've managed to shut down Germany. The reigning World Cup champions are viewed as a heavy favorite to win this tournament, and are well known for their attacking firepower. In fact, so far at Euro 2016, only one team have managed to keep die Mannschaft from finding the back of the net.
That side, of course, is Poland. The White Eagles, to date, are the only team to have prevented Joachim Low's men from scoring. Not an easy feat considering that anyone on the team is certainly capable of finding a goal. Just look at their 3-0 victory against Slovakia, which saw three different players - including defender Jerome Boateng - in three different positions chip in as they strolled to an easy win over the debutants.
Until Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri scored an absolute beauty late in their round of 16 clash, no one had been able to get past Poland's defense and the man between the posts.
The no. 2 guy ain't so bad
For most teams, having the no. 1 goalkeeper out due to injury is a recipe for disaster. Not so much for Poland, however. In their first match, first-choice shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny suffered an injury and as such, the no. 2 man between the posts - Swansea City's Lukasz Fabianski - was drafted in his stead.
As we have observed, Fabianski hasn't just done well as a substitute keeper. He has made the no. 1 spot his own, and came up big during Poland's tie with Switzerland this past weekend. Although he conceded the team's first goal (not counting during the spot-kick shootout), he made some dynamic saves to keep the white Eagles in the game after they had taken the lead near the end of the first half.
And it was his long throw to Kamil Grosicki that eventually set up Poland's goal in the round of 16, showing that he's just as comfortable "offensively" as he is protecting the net.
How impressive has Fabianski been? Check out his stats compared to other leading goalkeepers at this tournament:
As we can see from this graphic, only Iceland's shot-stopper has made more saves than the Swansea City man. If he can put in another great shift against Portugal, then Poland could have a good chance of setting up a semi-finals tie with either Wales or Belgium.
Lewandowski's got something to prove
In our earlier piece, we noted that a misfiring Lewandowski could be Poland's downfall and give Portugal the edge they need.
However, the Bayern Munich striker has played a vital role in Poland's success so far, primarily by creating spaces and opportunities for his colleagues to convert. Unfortunately, there are two issues here. First, although players like Jakub Blaszczykowski have been excellent (he's been directly involved in all five of Poland's past Euro goals with three goals and two assists), his strike partner, Arkadiusz Milik has been guilty of missing some great chances - especially against Germany and Switzerland.
The second issue is, of course, Lewandowski's inability to find the back of the net. 643 minutes - and counting - without a goal or an assist is not something any striker wants to have on his CV. If he can finally find his shooting boots, however, then Portugal will have to watch themselves. Just ask Real Madrid in 2013 and Wolfsburg in 2015 of what can happen once he unleashes his wrath.
Will Lewandowski be able to channel his growing frustration into a dynamic performance for Poland?
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Portugal's indifferent form
Portugal may be the more experienced side - they have impressively featured in every single quarter-finals stage since 1996, and are seeking to make their second consecutive and fourth overall semi-finals appearance this summer.
However, there is one stat that does not impress. Out of the eight teams remaining in the quarter-finals, Portugal were the worst performing side in the group stages. In fact, they are the only side to be here who did not win a single game during that round.
Portugal's beginning was nothing short of disappointing, and were it not for Cristiano Ronaldo's excellent performance, they would have been on their way home. They earned a disappointing three points and conceded a total of four goals, including three against Hungary.
And although they managed to finally edge out Croatia, it took them until the 116th minute to finally have a shot on goal. This means that Portugal have yet to win a match in regulation time- something that every other quarter-finals competitor have achieved at least once.
Still, Poland will have to be wary - as Portugal just may be saving their best for this upcoming match. However, as these reasons show, the White Eagles very well do have a good chance at ousting them, and we will find out which of these two interesting teams emerges victorious at the Stade Vélodrome in a few hours' time.
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