Poland dares to dream of quarters
Source: AFP |
June 14, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
POLAND'S 1-1 draw with Russia in its crunch Euro 2012 fixture felt like a win, given how great a boost it has dealt to the tournament co-host's confidence as it eyes an historic quarterfinals berth.
Despite a second successive 1-1 draw its performance against the highly-rated Russians was vastly different than against the limited, if spirited, Greeks.
This time round the Poles were the ones who fought back from going a goal down to force the draw - however a repeat of that result will not suffice in their final game against the Czechs as they have to win to progress.
Doing it against old rival Russia, with whom sporting encounters feed into age-old political antipathy, gave the game an extra edge - all the more so because the Russians hammered the Czech Republic last Friday.
"We played well and they played well. Favorites or no favorites, that doesn't mean anything. We'll see what happens next," said defender Damien Perquis.
Dariusz Dudka, who made the starting line-up against Russia after having been left out for the Greece match, underlined the psychological impact of the result.
"It's very important, because for us it's like the final is against the Czech Republic," said Dudka, who suffered the low of being relegated from France's Ligue 1 last season with Auxerre.
"We drew with a very good team who beat the Czech Republic 4-1, so for us in our heads that's important ahead of Saturday's game."
Despite a second successive 1-1 draw its performance against the highly-rated Russians was vastly different than against the limited, if spirited, Greeks.
This time round the Poles were the ones who fought back from going a goal down to force the draw - however a repeat of that result will not suffice in their final game against the Czechs as they have to win to progress.
Doing it against old rival Russia, with whom sporting encounters feed into age-old political antipathy, gave the game an extra edge - all the more so because the Russians hammered the Czech Republic last Friday.
"We played well and they played well. Favorites or no favorites, that doesn't mean anything. We'll see what happens next," said defender Damien Perquis.
Dariusz Dudka, who made the starting line-up against Russia after having been left out for the Greece match, underlined the psychological impact of the result.
"It's very important, because for us it's like the final is against the Czech Republic," said Dudka, who suffered the low of being relegated from France's Ligue 1 last season with Auxerre.
"We drew with a very good team who beat the Czech Republic 4-1, so for us in our heads that's important ahead of Saturday's game."
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