Goals have been hard to come by for the Polish at Euro 2016, but the team’s second goal in three matches ensured the squad of their place in the Round of 16.
Despite a lack of clear-cut chances on the afternoon, Poland pulled out a 1-0 win against Ukraine on Tuesday afternoon behind a tidy finish from Jakub Blasczykowski.
The Borussia Dortmund attacker cut in on his left foot in the 54th minute, before unleashing a curling effort that gave Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov no chance. Blasczykowski had only been on the field for nine minutes, after replacing Piotr Zielinski at halftime.
There was end to end action to start, but Ukraine nearly punished the Polish in the 18th minute when Andriy Yarmolenko pulled his breakaway attempt wide of the net. The Ukrainians, already eliminated from advancing to the knockout rounds, looked more comfortable in possession and controlled the flow of play throughout the match, but Yarmolenko and co. couldn’t find a breakthrough.
Robert Lewandowski found Poland’s best chance of the opening half in front of goal after just four minutes, when the Bayern Munich striker got in behind the Ukraine backline but guided his shot just over the bar.
MAN OF THE MATCH
He had only been on the field for nine minutes, but Jakub Blasczykowski‘s finish made the difference for Poland in the second half.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Jakub Blasczykowski needed one moment of brilliance to secure Poland’s place in the next round, but his finish was well worth watching.
MATCH TO FORGET
A boatload of possession and several quality looks at goal weren’t enough for Andriy Yarmolenko and Ukraine. The Dynamo Kiev forward managed four of his team’s 19 shots.