Saturday, 25 June 2016

EURO 2016- SWITZELAND PAY THE PENALTY AFTER NERVY 4-5 SHOOT OUT DEFEAT TO POLAND- MATCH REPORT

Poland will meet Croatia or Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after beating Switzerland on penalties in the first knockout game of the tournament.
Arsenal newcomer Granit Xhaka was the only player to miss in the shootout, with Grzegorz Krychowiak scoring the winning spot-kick for the Poles.
Jakub Blaszczykowski had put Poland ahead six minutes before half-time.
Switzerland hit back through Xherdan Shaqiri's sublime finish, an overhead kick from 18 yards.
Switzerland had never scored a penalty at a major tournament before, but they got off a flying start in the shootout as Stephan Lichtsteiner produced a composed finish down the middle.
After Robert Lewandowski levelled for Poland, Xhaka hit his penalty wildly wide to give the Poles the advantage.
Arkadiusz Milik, Kamil Glik and Kamil Grosicki also scored for Poland while Shaqiri, Fabian Schar and Ricardo Rodriguez found the net for the Swiss to make it 4-4.
The winning kick by Krychowiak sparked scenes of jubilation among Poland's large travelling support in Saint-Etienne.
Having reached the quarter-finals for the first time, Poland are just two wins from the final.
They dominated the first half without managing to kill off Switzerland and there remain doubts about their frontline.
Star striker Lewandowski is yet to find his best form in France, where the Poles have only scored three times in four games.
POST MATCH REACTION 
Poland manager Adam NawaƂka: "The Swiss are world class in defence and attack. It's not surprising that when they were losing they chased the score. We had to drop deep to defend. That's why they created chances. But what's most important is that when they scored their goal, you could see the potential of my team. We were able to switch from defence to attack and we took back control of the game."
On goalless striker Lewandowski: "Robert is doing phenomenal work for this team. He's an incredibly important player for this side. He helps the team to be better, stronger. He's creating chances for other players and creating space for other players, taking players away from them. I'm confident the break will happen in the next match, and let our opponents be afraid from there."
Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic: "I'm very sad for Granit Xhaka, but it's not just about him. Switzerland lost and I'm sad about that. The players gave everything and showed what they can do on the pitch. But unfortunately we made mistakes and paid for that."

The stats you need to know

  • Josef Hugi (six) is the only Switzerland player to have scored more goals at major international tournaments than Xherdan Shaqiri (four).
  • Jakub Blaszczykowski has been directly involved in five of Poland's six goals in European Championship finals history (three goals, two assists).
  • Poland's run of 370 minutes without conceding at Euro 2016 came to an end when Shaqiri scored.
  • There were 39 shots in the first 90 minutes, more than at any other Euro 2016 game so far.
  • CREDIT-   BBC

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