Euro 2016 Last 16: Switzerland 1-1 Poland - Poles advance on penalties

Sport360 staff 21:17 25/06/2016
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  • Poland went through to the quarter-finals on penalties

    Poland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after beating Switzerland 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday as Jakub Blaszczykowski proved again he has the midas touch.

    The Borussia Dortmund winger gave Poland a first-half lead in the last-16 clash before Xherdan Shaqiri’s spectacular second-half bicycle kick levelled for Switzerland.

    Arsenal-bound Granit Xhaka was at fault in the shootout as his wild kick flew wide with the Swiss’ second effort as Poland nailed all five kicks.

    What did you make of the match? Get in touch, use #360fans on social media.

    Read the full match report, click here.

    Here’s the best of the post-match interviews from the match:

    Jakub Błaszczykowski, Poland goalscorer

    “I am too old to get emotional [during penalties]. Now, I try to stay as cool as possible. In general we are very happy as we did we have achieved something we had not done before.”

    “This is marvellous feeling [to reach the quarter-finals for the first time]. Did I know that whenever I’ve scored Poland have never lost? It is nice. Lets hope it will stay like this all the way through to the final!”

    Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland man of the match

    “I think Granit is very professional and he can cope with it. He’s disappointed, but that’s football and mistakes can happen.”

    “Granit will stand up again and I think by the round of the last 16 of the World Cup, he will score again for us.”

    Adam Nawałka, Poland coach

    “Preparing for this match, we tried to improve our penalties, and we knew they’d be taken in the best possible way. We knew the five players to take them. Emotions were running high so we had to check at the end of extra time if the players still wanted to take them. Everyone had to confirm, and all five of them did.”

    “Robert Lewandowski 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 helps them be better players. And what’s most important is the result of the team, and Robert is part of the team.”

    Vladimir Petkovic, Switzerland coach

    “There was nothing special I told Xherdan [at half-time]. There were several attempts to change positions to get players better into the game, and that was proven to work in the second half.

    “[His goal] was instinct and belief, because you have to be convinced when you throw yourself at a ball like that. And you also need a bit of luck, which unfortunately we lacked elsewhere. We did well in these four games. We deserved better, but penalties are like roulette.”

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