over Azerbaijan and a 0–0 draw with France. Later, Poland lost 2–1 to Romania and beat Israel 4–3 and Slovakia 5–0 before consecutive draws with France (1–1) and Romania (0–0). Poland lost 4–1 to Slovakia in the penultimate qualifying game, and drew 0–0 with Azerbaijan in the final group game. In 1998 World Cup qualifying, Poland finished 3rd behind England and Italy. They began qualifying with a 2–1 loss to England before beating Moldova (2–1) and drawing 0–0 with Italy. Afterwards, they suffered successive defeats to Italy (3–0) and England (0–2). They won the next two games with scores of 4–1 over Georgia and 3–0 over Moldova, with Andrzej Juskowiak scoring a hat-trick against the latter. The final game was against Georgia, with Poland losing 0–3. During UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, Poland was drawn in a group with England, Sweden, Bulgaria and Luxembourg. Poland finished third, tied with England in points earned, but failed to qualify due to goal difference. 2001–2006: Rebuild Poland qualified for the 2002 World Cup, their first appearance at the World Cup since 1986. Poland's biggest win overall in the qualifying phase was a 4–0 win over Armenia, while their biggest defeat was a 4–1 defeat to Belarus. The Polish drew a group featuring hosts South Korea, the United States and Portugal. The first match was played against the hosts on 4 June, with Poland losing 2–0. The second game was against Portugal on 10 June, which Poland lost 4–0, confirming their early elimination. Poland then played the United States in the final group game on 14 June, winning 3–1; however, the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Mexico in the round of 16. Despite the win, Poland finished last in the group, with a goal difference of –4 and 3 points. Poland's qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup saw eight wins and two defeats. They finished behind England in the qualifying group; but as a result of being the second best second-placed team in the play-offs, they qualified automatically for the finals in Germany. The biggest win of the qualifying phase for Poland was an 8–0 victory over Azerbaijan, in which Tomasz Frankowski scored a hat-trick. The biggest defeat of the qualifying phase for Poland were two defeats against England, losing both home and away games by a scoreline of 1–2. At the 2006 World Cup, Poland drew Germany, Ecuador and Costa Rica