Georgia, Ukraine, Wales, Greece, Iceland and Poland They are one step away from the final stage of the Euro Cup after winning the first play-off match of the qualifying round. Left on the road were Luxembourg, Bosnia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Israel and Estonia, which lost their matches on Thursday.
The Georgian team, which has never played in a tournament of nations, defeated Luxembourg in the first round of the play-off (2-0), in a rivalry in which the Spanish fighter was a unique witness. Ilia Topuria, which originated from this Caucasian country. Georgia, which does not rely on its star Khvicha Kvaratskheliamanaged to win thanks to two goals from Budu Zivzivadze.
The Georgian team will face Greece on Tuesday in Tbilisi, with an indisputable victory over Kazakhstan (5-0) is on the verge of qualifying for the Euro Cup.
Since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Greece has not participated in any final stage of a major competition. He missed the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and the 2016 and 2020 Euro Cups. In total, he has accumulated four major tournaments of absences and this Thursday he took the penultimate step to end that streak.
In just 40 minutes, with a penalty goal from Anastasios Bakasetas and goals from Dimitris Pelkas, Fotis Ioannidis and Dimitris Kourbelis, Greece sealed the match.
WALES SEES POLAND
On the other hand, Wales beat Finland (4-1) and Poland beat Estonia (5-1). They bid for another place. From the two-and-a-half minute mark, Wales dominated the scoreboard on Thursday.
It was quickly back to 1-0, through David Brooks, who was in time to finish off the goalkeeper’s rebound after Harry Wilson’s action. It was 2-0 more, in a free-kick approach: Wilson stepped on it, Neco Williams settled it with his right foot to increase the difference to Finland in the 38th minute, on the way to a victory that was beyond doubt. .
Some rose on the brink of half-time, when Pukki scored to make it 2-1, but it was a short-lived worry for the Welsh team, who a minute and 20 seconds after the restart had restored score in its original place: Brennan Johnson finished the ball along the line to make it 3-1, after a lateral free kick and a rebound. I am alone. It’s not offside.
4-1, in the 86th minute, came from Daniel James, who pressed and took advantage of the fatal error of Miro Tenho, the last defender, who fell asleep on the ball.
The victory extends a domestic streak for Wales, who have lost just one of their fifteen qualifying matches for the continental competition at home, with 11 wins and three draws.
Goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski and Piotr Zielinski sparked Poland’s convincing 5-1 Euro 2024 play-off A semi-final win over Estonia to give Robert Lewandowski a place in the final against Wales, after leading in the 22nd minute and play with numerical superiority from the 27th, even with 1-0.
There is still one final hurdle for the Euro Cup: Wales. Next Tuesday. The winner will be placed in group D, along with France, Austria and the Netherlands.
UKRAINE OR ICELAND, FOR OTHER PLACES IN GERMANY
A goal two minutes from time by Girona player Artem Dovbyk ended the return of Bilino Polje of Zenica in Ukraine who beat Bosnia (1-2) and meet Iceland in search of a ticket to the final stage of Euro 2024 .
In two minutes, the Ukrainian team, including Andrej Lunin, from Real Madrid, Oleksandr Zinchenko from Arsenal, Mykhailo Mudryk, from Chelsea, Artem Dovbyk, from Girona and on the bench Roman Yaremchuk from Valencia , fueled their hopes of success, for the second time. in their history, a play-off to the final stage and playing in the final stage of a continental tournament for the fourth consecutive edition.
Bosnia took the lead on the hour, with a shot from outside the area by Salzburg’s Amar Dedic, deflected by Mykola Matviienko and stunned by Lunin.
The goal was unexpected. Ukraine were superior but could not get it until the last period, with two goals in three minutes. He tied it, with a pass from Yukhym Konoplya Roman Yaremchuk assisted, from the left, in the second, the winner, with a pass to Dovbyk who, with a header, beat Ibrahim Sehic and brought Ukraine closer to final stage of Germany 2024.
However, first, the Ukrainian team must face Iceland, which took advantage of Israel’s shortcomings and misfortunes (1-4) to win in Budapest.
A hat trick by Genoa player Albert Gudmundsson brought Iceland closer to the Euro Cup, winning (1-4) at the Szusza Ferenc Stadion in Budapest against an Israeli team that played twenty minutes with fewer players and wasted a penalty, They took Zahavi, which will put him in the fight to reach the continental tournament.
Age Hareide’s side are one step away from playing in their first European Championship since reaching the quarterfinals in 2016. They face Ukraine on Sunday, who they won in Bosnia
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
