Over a decade, he represented Poland at five major tournaments starting with gold at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich and ending with a third-place finish at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.

He reached the peak of his career at the 1974 World Cup, where he was the leading scorer and the only Pole to-date to have won the honour.

Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a Polish Senator for the Rzeszów region, between 2001 and 2005.

Over the next 14 years, he led Stal from the Second Division to the top tier of Polish football and its most successful era in its history.

[2] He spent the rest of the 1980s playing amateur football in Hamilton, Ontario for Polonia Hamilton—a club founded by Polish immigrants.

He won his first cap under legendary Poland coach Kazimierz Górski in a qualifying game for the 1972 European Championships against West-Germany.

He was able to translate his prolific domestic goal-scoring record onto the international stage, where he became renowned for his striking prowess, especially in big games.

Finally Poland beat Italy 2–1, to end the group-stage as undefeated winners of Group 4.

Thus, the game would prove decisive in deciding who would finish Group B 1st or 2nd—the winner would go to the final, the loser would go to the third-place play-off.

In a tight game, Lato again proved to be the difference, scoring the only goal and leading the Poland national team to a Bronze finish.

Lato couldn't resurrect his form from four years prior, only mustering a single goal against Brazil.

Poland managed to beat Peru 1–0 but that wasn't enough to secure 2nd place in Group B and they were duly eliminated.

Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a Polish Senator for the Rzeszow region, between 2001 and 2005.

In a 2011 interview, Lato said that if Poland didn't progress to the Euro 2012 quarterfinals he would hand in his resignation from the position of President of the Polish FA.

After Poland's 0–1 defeat by the Czech Republic on 16 June 2012—which officially knocked them out of Euro 2012 in the group stages—he refused to resign.

On 29 November 2023, Lato was honored by being designated as the patron of the Mielec Municipal Stadium, in accordance with Resolution No.

[6] Blessed with remarkable acceleration, the talented right-winger consistently lived up to the high expectations placed upon him at the international level.

His great awareness on the pitch, coupled with his flexibility—he often played as a forward—allowed him to achieve success at the international and club levels.