All of the players called up by Adhemar Pimenta traveled to France: Out of those, Batatais, Walter, Machado, Argemiro, Lopes, Perácio, Romeu Pellicciari, Hércules and Zezé Procópio had never played any matches for the national team before.
[1] To Strasbourg, France, where Poland was going to play its first game versus Brazil (5 June 1938), Kałuża and Spoida took 15 players: On the roster, there were two athletes who had never before played for Poland - midfielder Stanisław Baran and goalkeeper Walter Brom (who was then 17 years and 4 months old - up to this day Brom is the youngest goalkeeper on FIFA's World Cup list of participants).
[3] However, the preparation for 1938 had been calm and free of internal disputes, and the team had qualified to the tournament by default after its opponent, Argentina, withdrew from the qualification.
As the shirts of both teams at the time were white, Brazil played with its improvised training uniform, without embroidered shields and in a different shade of blue than the shorts.
The team that was called up to the Cup was largely the same as the one that had played in the qualification, with only keeper Adolf Krzyk and striker Jerzy Wostal absent from the final list.
However, all fans were surprised at the style with which the Poles played its lone game of the tournament - white-reds got to the extra time, only then losing 5-6.
Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau was filled with some 15,000 fans, including a several thousand group of Poles - mostly immigrants, who worked in coal mines in northern France.
Brazil also played with the same scheme, with Batatais on the goal, Domingos da Guia and Machado on the defence, Zezé Procópio, Martim and Affonsinho as midfielders, and as forwards, Lopes, Romeu, Leônidas, Perácio and Hércules.
As Poland lost the game vs. Brazil (5–6), which meant going back home, only the 11 players mentioned above were given the chance to appear on the field.
The latter managed to push the Pole to the ground, which meant a penalty kick; it was scored in the 23rd minute by Scherfke, who aimed at the right corner of the goal.
Even though Wodarz, on a free kick, was close, and then Nyc's shot hit a crossbar, Poland lost 5–6.
[6] The goal was given though, as Brazil played the match with black socks and thus (also due to all the mud which covered the pitch resulting of the rain beforehand), the lack of a boot went undetected by the referee.
It was the 1938 edition that Brazil started to rise to become a football superpower, although it took them 20 years to finally win their first World Cup, against the hosts.
Thus, Polish football did not make any major impact until their return in 1974, where the Poles surprised the whole tournament by achieving third place, by taking vengeance on the Brazilians in their final match.