Lewandowski is not enough – AS.com

Sweden held out as the first of Spain's group at the cost of condemning Poland to pack their bags back home. The Swedes have cemented their pass to the round of 16 on two basic football pillars: a goalkeeper who stops a lot and fails little and talent at the top (Forsberg goes on goal per game). In addition, the last half hour of Kulusevski (his first minutes in the tournament after overcoming the coronavirus) complete an attack prepared to give war to anyone, because Isak is still sweet even if he does not see the door. Poland is leaving the Euro with the certainty that the idea of ​​their new coach is still very green and with the feeling that it will probably never mature. Their qualification options came with more heroic than football and, above all, with the quality of Lewandowski, the best 'nine' on the planet at the moment. It was not enough.

Sweden dodged speculation from the start: it took only a minute and a half for Forsberg to overtake the Nordics. He teamed up with Isak, who completed another great performance, and found a Polish friend in Glik who helped the Leipzig midfielder finish alone against Szczesny, who he beat with a good left-foot cross.

The early starter so left Poland groggy, that until the 10th minute they barely even managed to get out of their field. The Swedes smelled the blood and rushed to the jugular to try to break up the game and the group, although the Poles held up well on defense. Little by little they entered the meeting and in the 17th minute Lewandowski had a resounding opportunity that at this time he must continue spinning inside his head: he headed twice in a row to the crossbar at the exit of a corner. Sousa's men stretched out there, although without stepping on the area too much before the break. The clearest chance was thwarted by Olsen, with a good shot by Zielinski from outside the area.

In the resumption, the party went crazy. Sweden played with the net (classified before the game) and Poland had nothing to lose. The occasions followed (Zielinski ran into the goalkeeper again), until the departure of Kulusevski improved to those of Andersson. The Juventus forward made a great ride and assisted Forsberg, who made a pass to the net. When everything seemed decided Lewandowski put excitement with a goal just a minute later and another in the final minutes. The Poles were one goal from the pass, but the Claesson goal in discount ended up derailing his options.

This result sends Sweden to the round of 16 as first and Sousa to the thinking corner, because his idea of ​​the game is hardly applicable in the Polish style of football.

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Paulo Sousa: “We deserved much more”

The Polish coach, Paulo Sousa, assured that his team “deserved much more”, both in this European Championship and today, Wednesday, in the match against Sweden (3-2). “My team deserved much more in all three games. We lacked luck in the Eurocup. The first objective was to qualify for the eighth“, he said at a press conference. Sousa stressed that his team” cannot concede stupid goals “, although he did not consider that all the fault lies with the defenders.” It cannot be that the first shot is a goal. Today we create many occasions. Olsen made great saves, “he said.

He acknowledged that he and the players are “disappointed” as they worked “very hard” over the past few weeks. “Sweden deserves to be the first of the group, but today we were better than them. We create more problems for them than in all the games they played this year“said the Portuguese, who took office in early 2021.

He recalled that the injuries of two of his forwards, Milic and Piatek, prevented his team from reaching its true level in the tournament. Sousa was willing to continue leading Poland during the World Cup qualifying phase, although he clarified that the current president of the Polish federation, Zbigniew Boniek, will leave office. “I wait for the new president. I have told the players in the locker room that it has been an honor“To be a Polish coach, he asserted.-EFE