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Football: Poland crash out of Euro 2020 after 2-3 loss to Sweden

23.06.2021 21:50
Poland's national football team crashed out of the Euro 2020 tournament after losing 2-3 to Sweden in its final group-stage game on Wednesday.
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  • Poland crash out of Euro 2020 after 2-3 loss to Sweden
Down and out: Viktor Claesson (right) scores the 3-2 goal for Sweden against Poland on Wednesday.
Down and out: Viktor Claesson (right) scores the 3-2 goal for Sweden against Poland on Wednesday.Photo: EPA/Maxim Shemetov

The match at Krestovsky Stadium in the Russian city of St. Petersburg saw Poland fight hard but suffer an early exit from the European championships after a disappointing 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Emil Forsberg put Sweden 1-0 up in the 2nd minute of the game and then doubled the score in the 59th.

Star striker Robert Lewandowski narrowed Sweden's lead 16 minutes into the second half and then put things equal at 2-2 in the 84th.

Viktor Claesson made it 3-2 for the Swedes in the last minute of stoppage time.

Poland finished last in their Group E and failed to advance to the knockout stage of the Euro 2020 tournament, with just one point from three group-stage games.

Sweden finished at the top of the group, with seven points, ahead of Spain with five points and Slovakia in third place with three.

The championships, held by the European football governing body UEFA, opened on June 11 after being rescheduled from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Poland, captained by star striker Robert Lewandowski and coached by Portuguese manager Paulo Sousa, lost 1-2 to lower-ranked Slovakia in their opening game at the Euro 2020 tournament on June 14 and then drew 1-1 against Spain in their second fixture five days later.

The Polish side went into the tournament missing several key players, including strikers Krzysztof Piątek and Arkadiusz Milik, both of whom were ruled out of Euro 2020 by injuries.

Poland are ranked 21st worldwide by football's governing body FIFA, while Sweden are No. 18 in the FIFA table.

The 24-team Euro 2020 tournament runs until July 11 in 11 cities around Europe.

Poland in 2016 made it through to the quarterfinals of the European championships in France, losing to Portugal on penalties.

The Polish team suffered an early exit from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

(gs/pk)

Source: TVP Sport, IAR, PAP

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