A major component in the triumph was Emmanuel Olisadebe, a Nigerian by birth, who spurned his country to become Poland's biggest star.
Olisadebe scored eight of the goals that brought Poland to the finals and secured a transfer to top European side Panathinaikos.
Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest challenge to the Poles came from Ukraine and not Norway.
The Norwegians, for so long one of the better teams in Europe, failed to make an impact.
The Poles actually sealed their qualification through a convincing 3-0 home win over Norway.
It was a a victory which allowed them to coast through the remaining group fixtures, which included a 4-1 hammering by Belarus and a 1-1 draw with Ukraine.