Poland’s Piotr Zielinski came in for criticism after taking a photo with Cristiano Ronaldo after his side’s 5-1 loss to Portugal, but the midfielder said he had no reason to hide despite the defeat in a nervy press conference on Sunday.
Ronaldo scored twice in Portugal’s Nations League win on Friday, and Polish media and fans were far from complimentary after seeing both captain Zielinski and teammate Nicola Zalewski smiling for photos with the Portuguese forward.
At a press conference ahead of Poland’s final group game against Scotland on Monday, Zielinski was immediately questioned about the topic, as reporters focussed on off-field issues despite the side’s problems on the pitch.
“It looked like this, myself and Nicola approached, and we took a photo. Neither Cristiano nor us had a problem with it,” Zielinski said.
“I don’t see a problem with that. I’m not interested in what happens on social media. For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers in history.
“I lost the match, so should I hide in the corner? I approached, we took a photo, and that’s it. I felt like it.”
Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka may have conceded five goals against Portugal, but the main focus of Polish media was the fact that he played the second half with the wrong shorts.
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Bulka, wearing number 13 on his jersey, emerged after the break with the number one shorts belonging to substitute Lukasz Skorupski.
“And this is one of the most important questions after Portugal? If it wasn’t for the media, I wouldn’t even know that these shorts were different,” Bulka said.
“Because the size was the same, only the number was different.”
An even bigger story was the mix-up which led to Karol Swiderski being unable to come on as a substitute because his name was not included on the official team sheet, and the man responsible, team manager Lukasz Gawrjolek, explained and apologised.
“The 23 players were correctly registered the day before the match,” Gawrjolek said.
“75 minutes before the start of the match, the team sheet is filled in and during its completion, almost all fields were completed, but one was omitted.
“This is my mistake, I am responsible for it. I will do everything to never allow this to happen again.”
Poland, currently third in the standings on four points, cannot make the quarterfinals, but avoiding defeat at home to Scotland would mean entering a relegation/promotion playoffy, while defeat would signal automatic relegation from League A.
Scotland, bottom of the group and also on four points, could still make the quarterfinals if it defeats Poland and Croatia loses to Portugal, depending on goal difference. Portugal is already through to the quarterfinals as group winner.
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