43 days to go…
We’re counting down to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ by showcasing a golazo from the global finals each day.
Zbigniew Boniek
Poland v Belgium
Spain 1982 | Group A
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Poland were desperate to finish top of Group 1. Sure, going into a second-stage section with Belgium and Soviet Union, rather than Argentina and scorching-hot title favourites Brazil, contributed, but it wasn’t the foremost factor.
If Poland advanced in second place, they’d kick off their next two games in the afternoon. If they went through in first, they’d play in the evening. When Antoni Piechniczek’s side won a pool also comprising Italy, Cameroon and Peru, hearing they’d kick off at 9pm was like a Chopin ballade to Polish ears.
In Zbigniew Boniek, after all, they had someone Juventus owner Gianni Agnelli would describe as “the best player in the world at night. He was unstoppable at night. It was as if he had the genes of a deadly predator who did his hunting at night.”
The predator punished the Belgians brutally. The man Henry Kissinger nicknamed ‘Il Bello di Notte’ (‘The Beauty of the Night’), indeed, hit a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory that helped propel Poland into the semi-finals. Boniek’s first past Theo Custers was another beauty of the night.
