At a sold-out Cardiff City Stadium, nine shooters converted with great confidence before Daniel James became a sad figure. The 26-year-old Leeds United attacker was denied by Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after guessing a corner. The first penalty shoot-out in the history of the Welsh association ended in the most bitter way. Wales missed out on a third European Championship appearance in a row and are yet to win against Poland since 1973. The Poles had every reason to celebrate, as did the 1-0 win in the 2022 Nations League in Cardiff. For the fifth time in a row, they can get a taste of the European Championship air in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
The two teams clashed for a long time. The hosts had their best moments before the break, the most dangerous being skipper Ben Davies' goal (17th). He scored the opening goal in first-half stoppage time to cheers from the fans, but it was disallowed by VAR due to an offside position.
Poland had a bit more of a game in the second half and Robert Lewandowski could have pulled his team back in the 90th minute but narrowly missed the goal. In extra time, the Poles were the closest to the result when Welshman Chris Mebham was sent off. A great chance was missed by Kajub Piotrowski, who headed for the top corner (100'). It was bearable, as it was a happy ending in a penalty shootout. European Championship against Austria on June 21 (6pm) at Berlin Olympic Stadium; The other group opponents are France and the Netherlands.
The ÖFB selection followed a penalty thriller in Cardiff after a 6-1 friendly win in the catacombs of the Ernst Happel Stadium. “We take it when it comes,” team boss Ralph Rangnick said. Poland is “perfect” as a European Championship contender. We knew from the beginning that we had a strong team. That hasn't changed now.” Christoph Baumgartner looks forward to a clash with Lewandowski and Co. “This is a team with an absolutely world-class striker. But we don't need to hide,” said the ÖFB attack man. “We have the quality to beat them.” Now we have one of the strongest teams in the competition. “You can say that.”
In Tbilisi too, no goals were scored until the penalty shoot-out, after which team captain Willy Sagnol and co were able to celebrate a historic victory. In warm conditions, Greece were the more active team without really being a goal threat. Georgia star Kwicha Kvaratskelia was also physically strong in defense. The only real excitement in the 90 minutes was a pack formation immediately after the final whistle of the first half, when, among other things, Georgia's substitute keeper Giorgi Loria received a red card. There were little concessions in terms of football, and extension was the logical consequence.
There, Konstantinos Mavropanos hits the crossbar with a header (102'). On the other hand, Suriko Davitashvili missed the match point (105th) for the hosts, where Sturm Cross legionnaire Otar Kitishvili played until the 104th minute and Sandro Altunashvili (WAC) was on the bench. He lost because of Greek goalie Odysseus Vlachodimos. Kvaratskelia left the field shortly before the end of the game due to injury (109').
Tassos Pagasetas, who was denied by Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamatashvili in the penalty shootout, and Giorgos Giacomakis, who shot wide, caused the Greek tragedy. In the end it didn't matter that Georges Mikadodze didn't score for the Georgians. The Greek guests missed their fifth European Championship participation. The Georgians will now face Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic in EURO Group F in the summer.
After Albert Gudmundsson (30th) scored, the Icelanders were allowed to speculate about their participation in the European Championship in Poland. However, Ukrainians had something against this in alternative places – because of the internal war. First Viktor Tsygankov equalized (54'), then 23-year-old Chelsea striker Mikailo Mudric (84') scored the match winner. The Ukrainians are in the European Championship for the fourth time in a row, where they face Belgium, Romania and Slovakia in the group stage.
