Russia 1 – 1 Poland: How it happened

It was a frustrating night for Russia but co-hosts Poland will be all smiles after grabbing their second point in two matches and holding the Group A favourites to a stalemate.

To the delight of the home fans Poland had dominated the early exchanges at the National
Stadium.

But on 37 minutes Polish delight turned to agony as Alan Dzagoyev found space at the front post to connect with captain Andrei Arshavin’s inswinging free kick and burry his header into the back of the net.

With the hopes of a nation weighing heavily on their shoulders Poland stepped it up a notch in the second half – and their efforts soon paid dividends.

On the 57th minute Bordeaux midfielder Ludovic Obraniak sent a pin-point through ball to the edge of the box where captain Jakub Blaszczykowski picked it up and drilled it home in spectacular fashion for the equaliser.

The result leaves Russia top of the standings and needing a point against Greece to qualify for the quarter-finals – while it leaves the co hosts third a point behind the Czech Republic and one clear of Greece.

Copyright © 2013 euronews