Polish Cup round of 32 draw pairs Piast Gliwice with holders Górnik Zabrze

Silesian derby heads round of 32 lineup

The draw for the round of 32 of the Polish Cup took place on Thursday at 14:00 in the Telewizja Polska studio in Warsaw. Polish Football Association Secretary General Łukasz Wachowski and former Poland international Jakub Wawrzyniak conducted the ceremony. With no seedings applied, all 32 qualified clubs were placed into an open draw. The headline matchup features a Silesian derby between Piast Gliwice and defending cup holders Górnik Zabrze, who also lead the Ekstraklasa standings. Piast, currently sixth in the league, will host the tie because their ball came out first among the two top-flight sides.

Top-flight entries and European contenders

Five clubs entered the competition in this round after receiving byes through the opening phase due to their participation in European competitions. Those five sides are Górnik Zabrze, reigning league champions Lech Poznań, Jagiellonia Białystok, Raków Częstochowa, and GKS Katowice. The draw produced only two all-Ekstraklasa matchups. Alongside the Silesian derby, Motor Lublin will host Raków Częstochowa in Lublin. Lech Poznań will travel to face fourth-tier Siarka Tarnobrzeg, while GKS Katowice visits second-tier Górnik Łęczna.

Rematches and lower-league underdogs

First-tier side Jagiellonia Białystok will travel to Pomerania to face Lechia Gdańsk, who were relegated from the top division and currently sit eleventh in the second tier with ten points. The two clubs have met eleven times in Polish Cup history, with each side recording three victories alongside six draws. Lechia won their 2019 final encounter at PGE Narodowy to lift the trophy. Before the draw, Lechia captain Tomasz Neugebauer expressed his preference for a home fixture against top-flight opposition.

It would be good to play an enjoyable match, but above all I hope it is in Gdansk. It can definitely be an Ekstraklasa rival.

Lechia head coach Władysław Łupaszko took a more pragmatic view of the upcoming cup draw.

I want us to face an opponent we can beat. It does not matter whether it is from the Ekstraklasa or the third division.

First-round upsets and tournament calendar

The remaining fourth-tier side in the competition, Polonia Środa Wielkopolska, will host the reserve team of Śląsk Wrocław. Only two fourth-tier teams reached this stage after several surprises in the opening round. Seven top-flight clubs suffered elimination in the first round, including 21-time cup winners Legia Warszawa, who lost 3-0 to Motor Lublin. Cracovia fell to Znicz Pruszków on penalties, Wisła Kraków lost 1-2 to Odra Opole, and Avia Świdnik eliminated Wieczysta Kraków. Zagłębie Lubin, Pogoń Szczecin, and Widzew Łódź were also knocked out.

Schedule for upcoming rounds

All sixteen fixtures in the round of 32 will take place between 27 and 29 October. According to tournament regulations, clubs from lower divisions automatically host single-leg ties, while the first drawn club hosts when both teams compete in the same division. Following this round, the round of 16 is scheduled for early December, with quarterfinals set for early March and semifinals in April. The final will take place on 2 May at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw.