Robert Lewandowski can still hope for his fourth European Championship participation in a row, Georgia can even hope for its tournament premiere and Ukraine achieved the most spectacular coup: After the play-off semi-finals, only six teams are fighting for the last three tickets for the final round in Germany.
For Israel and Luxembourg, among others, the dream ended. Lewandowski and Poland left nothing to chance in their 5-1 (1-0) win against Estonia. Ukraine, Greece, Iceland, Wales and Georgia, which has never qualified for a European Championship, are also still in the race after victories on Thursday (March 21, 2024).
Five Polish goals – none from Lewandowski
In Warsaw, goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski (22nd), Piotr Zielinski (50th), ex-Düsseldorf player Jakub Piotrowski (70th) and Sebastian Szymanski (76th) as well as an own goal from St. Pauli’s Karol Mets (73rd) ensured that the clear victory for the Poles, who had been extremely disappointing in the qualification with third place behind Albania and the Czech Republic.
The white-reds will meet Wales on Tuesday in Cardiff, who beat Finland 4-1 (2-1). Only the winner goes to the European Championships (June 14th to July 14th).
Gudmundsson’s hat-trick
Iceland also won against Israel 4-1 (2-1) after falling behind, with Albert Gudmundsson scoring three goals (39′, 83′, 87′). After the victory in Budapest, where the Israelis played their home game because of the war in Gaza, the quarter-finalists from 2016 can hope for their second European Championship participation.
The ticket decision will be made in the duel with Ukraine, who won 2-1 (0-0) in exile in Budapest against Bosnia-Herzegovina thanks to a late brace from Roman Jaremtschuk (85th) and Artem Dowbyk (88th).
KSC striker scores twice for Georgia
Meanwhile, Georgia can dream of their European Championship premiere thanks to Budu Zivzivadze from Karlsruher SC. The striker of the second division team scored a brace (40th/63rd) in the 2-0 (1-0) win against outsiders Luxembourg.
The fight for the European Championship ticket will take place again on Tuesday in Tbilisi against Greece, which easily knocked Kazakhstan out of the race 5-0 (4-0). The goal scorers: Anastasios Bakasetas (9th), Dimitrios Pelkas (15th), Fotis Ioannidis (37th), Dimitrios Kourbelis (40th) and an own goal from Erkin Tapalov (85th).
The three finals at a glance Team A Team B Venue Ukraine Iceland Wroclaw/Poland Wales Poland Cardiff Georgia Greece Tbilisi
2024-03-21 21:45:00
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