If the international break in March included a good number of friendly matches for the selections, on the European side there were still big stakes for certain teams. 12 selections were in fact playing their place for Euro 2024 which will take place this summer. With only three qualifying places, the twelve teams therefore had to go through play-offs, first the semi-finals then a final to qualify. A little earlier in the day, Willy Sagnol’s Georgia had also validated its ticket for this final by winning against Luxembourg (2-0) without forcing. The Georgians had to know this evening against whom they were going to play this last match.
Precisely in this part of the table, it was Greece which faced Kazakhstan. And it didn’t take long for Georgia to be fixed since the Greeks were leading 4-0 after less than 40 minutes of play. There was therefore no suspense since Kazakhstan was never able to come back. Greece managed quietly in the second half (5-0, final score) and will therefore play its place at Euro 2024 against the golden generation of Georgia led by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze. In Group B of these play-offs, undoubtedly the toughest, Poland and Wales met in the final. Before that, Robert Lewandowski’s teammates had to get rid of Estonia. Helped by the exclusion of an Estonian after half an hour of play, Poland crushed their evening opponent (5-1). Small event, despite the offensive festival of his team, Lewandowski did not find the net.
Ukraine showers Bosnia-Herzegovina
And as expected, in the other match, Wales responded by also dominating Finland. Led by Tottenham striker Brennan Johnson, the Welsh did the job (3-1) without ever really being worried. They will therefore play the final in a shock against Poland. As a reminder, the winner will be placed in the French team group. In Group B, the last of these play-offs, Israel faced Iceland. The objective was clear, to achieve the feat to dream of qualifying for the Euro until the end. But the miracle did not happen despite Eran Zahavi opening the score in the first half. Iceland came back thanks to a great Albert Gudmundsson, author of a hat-trick (4-1, final score). Israeli Eran Zahavi missed a decisive penalty late in the game to equalize. A hard blow for him who had already missed the penalty in Euro 2021 qualifying against Scotland. Iceland will face… Ukraine in the final of their play-off.
In a completely crazy match, the Ukrainians managed to turn the match around in the final moments. Led by Edin Dzeko’s team, the Ukrainians seemed completely helpless. Mudryk’s breakthroughs or Malinovskyi’s entry changed nothing. And yet, on a harmless cross in the final moments, Roman Yaremchuk dampened the hopes of the Bosnian supporters present at the stadium (85th). As if that wasn’t enough, Ukraine snatched victory and qualification two minutes later thanks to a beautiful header from Artem Dovbyk (2-1) who freed his team. Sergiy Rebrov’s men can therefore still believe in qualifying for the Euro. The grand finals of each group will take place this Tuesday.
Dam-off results
- Poland 5-1 Estonia
- Greece 5-0 Kazakhstan
- Wales 4-1 Finland
- Israel 1-4 Iceland
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-2 Ukraine
- Georgia 2-0 Luxembourg
Pub. THE
Update