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Robert Lewandowski came agonisingly close to inspiring Poland to one of the great European Championship comebacks but will reflect that his astonishing first-half miss may have cost his team a place in the knockout stages.
Trailing 2-0 to Sweden thanks to Emil Forsberg’s double, Poland were heading home with barely a murmur.
Then Lewandowski produced one of the goals of the tournament and scored his second six minutes from time, meaning another at that stage would have sent Poland into the last 16. In the end, though, Poland could not find another golden moment and substitute Viktor Claesson sealed top spot in the group for the Swedes and a last-16 tie at Hampden Park on Tuesday.
A late Viktor Claesson winner saw Sweden finish top of Group E to book their place in the knockouts
Emil Forsberg scored twice to put them 2-0 ahead before the game was turned on its head
Two goals from Robert Lewandowski was not enough to see Poland progress to the knockouts
Meanwhile Lewandowski – one of the greatest forwards of his generation – will forever wonder how he headed against the crossbar from two yards in the 17th minute, with the goal at his mercy.
Forsberg had given Sweden the perfect start after only 82 seconds and made it two just before the hour mark with another classy finish. In a team of artisans, Forsberg is a genuine artist and now has three goals in Euro 2020.
He proved it here inside two minutes. The RB Leipzig player was lurking on the edge of the box after Alexander Isak tussled with Kamil Glik and collected the loose ball before gliding past Kamil Jozwiak and firing the ball into the bottom corner – the coolest of finishes in the 30-degree St Petersburg heat.
