Following the World Cup, Dudek returned to the national team to play in two internationals under new boss Beenhakker, a 0–2 friendly defeat in Denmark and a 1–3 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying loss against Finland at home, before being dropped yet again. Despite a period of three years "in the wilderness", he always believed that he would return to the national team and, in September 2009, he was called up to the squad for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Slovakia by interim manager Stefan Majewski; after being on the bench for the first match in Prague, which saw Poland's slim World Cup hopes shattered, he won his 59th cap against the latter on 14 October in the nation's final competitive game before Euro 2012. In a match which was played in heavy snow and in front of a near-empty Stadion Slaski in Chorzów, he was denied a clean sheet by an own goal from Seweryn Gancarczyk in a 0–1 defeat.