again; however, they also securing a place in the third place play-off. In the third place play-off, Poland beat France 3–2, with the game also being regarded as "the end of the golden era of Polish football". In 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Poland finished top of their qualifying group, with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. Poland's biggest win of the qualifying phase was a 4–1 win over Greece; meanwhile Poland's biggest defeat was a 0–2 defeat to Belgium. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Poland were drawn into a group with England, Morocco and Portugal. The first match was a 0–0 draw against Morocco; in the second match, Poland beat Portugal 1–0. In the final group game, they lost 0–3 to England, but Poland still advanced into the knockout stage as a result of Morocco winning 3–1 over Portugal. In the round of sixteen, Poland were eliminated after suffering a 4–0 defeat to Brazil. 1986–2001: Decline After the "Golden Era" from the 1970s and 1980s, Poland suffered a severe drought in international football; they did not qualify for three consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup, from 1990 to 1998. In 1990 World Cup qualifying, Poland finished 3rd in the qualifying group, behind Sweden and England. They finished on 5 points with two wins, one draw and three defeats. They began qualifying for the 1990 edition with a 1–0 win over Albania, before losing to Sweden (2–1) and England (3–0). Poland then drew 0–0 with England, lost to Sweden 2–0 and beat Albania 2–1 in their final game, but were 4 points behind England, thus failing to qualify. In 1994 World Cup qualifying, Poland finished 4th in the qualifying group, behind Norway, the Netherlands and England. Poland began qualifying with a 1–0 win over Turkey, followed by a 2–2 draw with the Netherlands, a 1–0 win over San Marino, and a 3–0 win in the reverse fixture. Afterwards, Poland drew 1–1 with England, before falling to a 0–3 defeat in the reverse fixture. Poland would then go on to suffer consecutive defeats, losing 1–0 and 3–0 to Norway, followed by a 2–1 defeat to Turkey and a 1–3 defeat to the Netherlands in the final fixture. In Euro 1996 qualifying, Poland drew a qualifying group with Romania, France, Slovakia, Israel and Azerbaijan. Poland lost 2–1 to Israel in the first game, and then recorded a 1–0 win