Smuda quits as Polish Euro dream ends

Poland coach Franciszek Smuda resigned after the Euro 2012 co-host was eliminated from the championship on Saturday in a 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic.

“This is 100 percent the end of the road. My contract runs out at the end of Euro 2012. Thanks guys,” a visibly upset Smuda told Poland’s public TVP broadcaster.

The Poles needed to win the game after drawing their first two matches but a 72nd minute strike by Petr Jiracek ended any hopes they had of reaching the last eight.

“We did our best. Unfortunately, we had a lot of missed passes. In the second period, we had to fight non-stop to get the ball back,” said 63-year-old Smuda, who has been in charge since October 2009.