Wroclaw, June 17 (QNA) - Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek praised his squad's capacity to learn from their mistakes after steering them to the quarter-finals as Group A winners thanks to their 1-0 defeat of Poland.
 His opposite number Franciszek Smuda was disappointed, but sounded an upbeat note about the future of the Polish national side as he stepped down from the role after two-and-a-half years in charge.
 "We're really satisfied as we beat a team playing at home," Bilek told Uefa.com after the match Saturday night. "They'd played two great games; they were favourites for this match.
 "We couldn't get into the game in the first 25 minutes, but then we did well and managed to score. We were patient. The situation was difficult after the first game, but the boys showed their character, and I think we deserved to go through."
 "Speaking after the defeat Franciszek Smuda said,"My contract expires after Euro 2012 and I had an agreement with Polish Football Federation president Grzegorz Lato that if we didn't qualify from the group then it wouldn't be extended.
 "We have to swallow this bitter pill. I think probably we were too confident about our chances of beating the Czechs. They played excellent football and scored a goal. We had some chances before the break and didn't take advantage. That's why we lost.
 "At half-time, we left the dressing room saying we wanted to attack. On the pitch, however, we did something different to what had been said. We can't say the players didn't want to   perhaps they were even too motivated. Unfortunately, we have to live with it. We wanted to reach the quarter-finals but didn't manage to do it.
 "In the last two-and-a-half years, we have created a team we can count on in the future. Maybe some young players will be added. We can't say that, as I leave this job, the ground has been left barren. We played some good matches. They weren't totally perfect, not as good as we might have imagined, but this is how football works." (QNA)