Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra on Tuesday (via BBC Sport), the analyst stated that the 23-year-old dived in the path of the Polish captain just as he was ready to shoot, deterring him just enough.
She added that if you’re going to let the 35-year-old forward fire, it should be from a distance, but Ampadu’s attempts were insufficient as Wales lost a penalty shootout to miss out on a spot in the European Championship.
“Ethan Ampadu sliding across Robert Lewandowski’s path, did just enough to put him off,” Ward told reporters. “If you’re going to have him shooting, you’d have him shooting from that sort of distance, you don’t want to give him too many opportunities.”
Ampadu delivered another amazing effort after having a fantastic first season with Leeds.
After excelling in midfield in Wales’ victory over Finland on March 21, he started against Poland in the same position.
He demonstrated his ability to compete with the world’s greatest players by dealing with dangers such as Barcelona attacker Lewandowski.
The Welshman will be extremely unhappy to watch his team miss out on a spot in the European Championships after Dan James missed the decisive penalty in the shootout.
However, he will be eager to continue his outstanding performances for the Whites in the coming weeks as they aim to secure promotion to the Premier League this season.
In other Leeds United news, Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist responded live on air to what a Whites star said.