Poland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after beating Switzerland 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday as Jakob Blaszczykowski proved again he has the Midas touch.
Borussia Dortmund winger Blaszczykowski gave Poland a first-half lead in the last-16 clash before Xherdan Shaqiri’s spectacular second-half bicycle-kick leveled for Switzerland.
It finished 1-1 after regulation time and then extra time, at Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Photo: EPA
Blaszczykowski drilled home his spot-kick in the shoot-out.
Arsenal-bound Granit Xhaka was at fault as Switzerland’s second effort flew wide with a wild kick, while Poland nailed all five of theirs.
The result meant Poland preserved their record of never having lost in 18 games when Blaszczykowski has scored.
They face Portugal in the quarter-finals in Marseille on Thursday.
It was a historic occasion for both sides, as neither had reached the knockout stages of a Euro finals.
Despite his success in converting in the penalty shootout, Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer in qualifying with 13 goals, remains without a regular goal in France.
The Bayern Munich striker constantly dropped back into midfield to run Poland’s attack.
They dominated the first half, while the Swiss ruled the second.
Poland squandered a gold-plated chance in the opening minute as a lazy pass from Swiss fullback Johan Djourou fell into Lewandowski’s path.
The star striker enticed Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer off his line, but Arkadiusz Milik fired over with the goal at his mercy.
At the other end, Blerim Dzemaili and Admir Mehmedi had chances for Switzerland before Fabian Schaer headed straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
After creating their fair share of chances, Poland finally went ahead when Kamil Grosicki broke down the left from a Switzerland corner.
His pass found Blaszczykowski unmarked at the far post and the Borussia Dortmund winger drove his shot home on 39 minutes.
Switzerland grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck as they hunted a second-half equalizer.
They camped in the Poland half for long spells, with goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski under siege.
Chasing the game and in a bid to boost their attacking options, Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic switched to two strikers with 30 minutes left of regulation-time.
He put Breel Embolo on for attacking midfielder Blerim Dzemaili and the move paid off.
A free-kick by dead-ball expert Ricardo Rodriguez was heading for the top-right corner until Fabianski’s glove intervened with 15 minutes left.
Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic had his head in his hands when his shot hit the crossbar.
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