To go only as far as the Round of 8 in Euro without facing a single normal-time defeat does pain a lot to Adam Nawalka, but, the coach says the fact that the Red and Whites did not come second to any team in the one and half hours of normal play is a sign that they are much stronger than the past.
The only thing that Poland did wrong in the Euro was that they could only convert 3 out of their 4 shots in the shootout in the pre quarter final, while, the opponent Portugal converted all their 5 shots and so advanced.
Poland’s run, if that missed shootout shot in Marseille is taken out, was nearly flawless, but, one error and unfortunately, no other opportunity thereafter.
According to Nawalka, to miss a shot in the shootout and to have to pay that big a cost of it was ‘brutal’, but, the campaign has given him optimism that there are some bright times ahead for the team.
Nawalka was quoted as, “This Euro showed how far we have come with our Football. Nobody could down us in the normal two halves at any point in the competition and that I can mention with pride because some brilliant teams came our way.”
“Any player can fail to hit a penalty into the net on a certain day, but, you don’t want to be going out like that for sure. It was a brutal end of our journey, as brutal as it could have been.”
“Every day we work together, our purpose is that we have to get better than yesterday and I think our purpose is still going to be the same. It’s about trying to achieve the excellence all the time.”