Kamil Grosicki admitted he could barely watch as Poland overcame Switzerland in the last 16 of Euro 2016 on penalties.

With the teams level at 1-1 after 120 minutes, the encounter in Saint-Etienne had to be decided via a shootout.

Switzerland's Granit Xhaka was the only player to miss from the spot as Poland won 5-4, and Grosicki, who was replaced by Slawomir Peszko in the 14th minute of extra time, confessed he struggled to watch the late drama unfold.

"When you're on the sidelines you try not to watch what's happening because it's so nerve-wracking," he said in a post-match television interview.

"We practiced penalties in training, we were all scoring and congratulations to Lukasz Fabianski for his goalkeeping.

"I'm very happy, like the whole team. We are very happy we're still staying here in France.

"It was a very tough match. The Swiss are a very difficult side to play against. They were attacking the whole second half, we were restricted to counter-attacks."

Jakub Blaszczykowski's first-half opener was cancelled out by a sensational overhead kick from Xherdan Shaqiri.

Blaszczykowski, who also found the net in the final group game against Ukraine, touted the victory and subsequent quarter-final spot as a historic moment for Poland.

"We dealt very well with them, won on penalties, scored them with confidence. It's a historical moment for us. We're among the top eight teams in Europe," he said.

"In the second half the Swiss team was much better. Perhaps we gave them too much space. We were trying to look for our chances on the counter. 

"They had a chance and took it. But at the end of the day we won it. We dragged it out of their hands."