Robert Lewandowski, during the semi-final of the Euro qualifying play-offs between Poland and Estonia, in Warsaw, March 21, 2024. WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP
Didier Deschamps and his staff will soon be fixed. Since the draw for the group stages of Euro football on December 2, 2023, the coach of the France team began to study the future opponents of his men in Pool D: the Netherlands and the ‘Austria. But one is still missing. Its name – and that of the last two teams which will take part in the competition in Germany, from June 14 to July 14 – will be known on Tuesday March 26, at the end of the play-off finals putting an end to the qualification process.
Wales or Poland for the Blues
The last ticket for Group D, that of France, will be played between Wales and Poland, at 8:45 p.m. Both easily defeated their opponents in the previous round: the first beating Finland (4 -1), the seconds, Estonia (5-1). The British, who have been experiencing a revolution for a year and the retirement of their star Gareth Bale, will have the advantage of playing this match at home, at Cardiff Stadium.
“It will be a difficult test, but what more do we need to motivate us? », launched Rob Page, the Welsh coach, whose players have already qualified, during the play-offs, for the 2022 World Cup, in Qatar (eliminated during the group stages). This was also the case for Poland, whose Blues ended their adventure in the emirate in the round of 16 (1-3). Still led by Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny, the latter have not lost a single match since the appointment of Michal Probierz to the bench in September 2023, and they are aiming for a fifth participation in a row in the Euro.
Ukraine to “bring joy” to its people
For the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, at the end of February 2022, Ukraine could play in a major football tournament. It is certainly by playing on this psychological spring that coach Sergei Rebrov will seek to motivate his players before their play-off final against Iceland, Tuesday, at 8:45 p.m., at the Wroclaw stadium (Poland). He is convinced of it: his team will qualify for the Euro “would bring joy to the Ukrainian people” and would prove that the latter “is still alive and still fighting”.
Quarter-finalist of the last continental championship, Zbirna is playing on a high after having managed to overthrow, in the last minutes, Bosnia-Herzegovina in the previous round (2-1) at the end of a match where it been largely dominated. In June 2022, the Ukrainians were eliminated in the World Cup play-off final. A misadventure that the Icelanders had experienced before Euro 2021. After easily beating Israel (4-1), the selection of the island state wants to be confident in the idea of joining group E, in which particularly found in Belgium.
Willy Sagnol’s Georgia for history
Willy Sagnol is on a mission. Since his appointment as coach of Georgia in February 2021, the former French international has managed to progress his team, promoted to League B of the Nations League. Tuesday, at 6:45 p.m., she will play, in front of her home crowd, the most important match in her history against the Greeks. At stake: a first qualification for a major tournament.
The Georgians beat Luxembourg in the previous round (2-0). A clear score, but an insufficient performance according to Willy Sagnol: “We need to improve our quality of play for the final, because Greece will come to Tbilisi with a lot of motivation and confidence. » For this meeting, the French coach can count on the return of the star of the selection, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, suspended against Luxembourg. The Naples winger will be eagerly awaited against an easy winning team from Kazakhstan (5-0) and revenge, after having missed all international competitions since the 2014 World Cup. The winner of this confrontation will join Group F of Portugal.
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2024-03-26 09:00:07
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