Poland beats Switzerland on penalties to secure quarter-final berth
Poland is through to the quarter-finals after edging out Switzerland in a scrappy Round of 16 affair Saturday that saw the victors come away from the encounter with a 5-4 win on penalties.
Grzegorz Krychowiak was the man tasked with taking the winning penalty, and promptly slotted his effort past Yann Sommer's outstretched hands to ensure progression into the next phase of the competition, sending the Polish support into a frenzy inside the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint Etienne.
Poland advances in a major-tournament knockout game for the first time in team history. #POL
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) June 25, 2016
It was a somewhat anti-climactic end to a match that produced one of the more memorable moments of Euro 2016: A Swiss side desperate for a goal saw its relentless pressure in the Polish end result in a mesmerizing bicycle-kick goal from Xherdan Shaqiri with less than 10 minutes remaining before extra time.
Related - Watch: Shaqiri's ridiculous bicycle-kick is the best goal of Euro 2016
The extra 30 minutes yielded few scoring chances outside of Eren Derdiyok's close-range effort when the Swiss forward's header was superbly swatted away by a diving Lukasz Fabianski. Derdiyok came close moments later when he looked destined to score the winner until Michal Pazdan intervened with a great defensive effort.
It was veteran midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski who got the scoring started in the first half to break the goalless deadlock minutes before halftime. The 30-year-old found himself alone in the box without a Swiss defender in sight before smashing his effort into the back of the net.
Victory for Poland looked almost certain well into the second half when the Swiss resembled a side desperate for a change. Changes were eventually made 20 minutes before the final whistle as Gelson Fernandes and Derdiyok entered the tie, with the latter proving to be the spark the Swiss needed in attack to put up a fight.
But it was a moment of brilliance neither coach could draw up in their respective pre-match attacking schemes as Shaqiri's instinctive strike stunned just about every fan in attendance.
However, Shaqiri and the Swiss ultimately saw their tournament come to a premature end in a match where, in the end, either side would've been a worthy competitor in the quarter-finals.