Fornalik relieved of Poland duties

Waldemar Fornalik has been dismissed as Poland coach following the team's failure to achieve a top-two finish in FIFA World Cup qualifying Group H.

In contention going into their last two matches, Poland lost 1-0 in Ukraine on Friday and 2-0 in England last night, ending the ten-game campaign in fourth place. Fornalik left his post at Ruch Chorzów 15 months ago to take charge of the national side in the wake of Franciszek Smuda's departure after a disappointing performance on home soil at UEFA EURO 2012.

Zbigniew Boniek, president of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN), said: "I would like to thank Mr Fornalik for his efforts as national team coach. I wish him good luck for the rest of his career."

The 50-year-old Fornalik, who described his spell at the helm as a "special time for me", would not be drawn on his future when pressed on the issue during the post-match press conference at Wembley. "It's not the time or place to draw any conclusions," he said. "There is no other team in Europe that has played their last two matches away from home against such good teams as England and Ukraine.

"We played well and we felt stronger and stronger as a team, but the problem lies elsewhere: in how we convert our chances. In Kharkiv against Ukraine we had six or seven opportunities and should have scored some goals there."