Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk (second from left) celebrates with teammates after scoring in opposition to Iceland in the Euro 2024 qualifier playoff on March 26, 2024
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Ukraine discovered one other late profitable aim in one other comeback win. Georgia and Poland held their nerve in penalty shootouts. All are going to the European Championship.
The 24-nation Euro 2024 lineup was finalized Tuesday with three qualifying playoffs giving a stronger japanese European taste to the match that opens June 14 in Germany.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s sweeping low shot in the 84th minute lifted Ukraine to a 2-1 victory over Iceland and a second late comeback win in the playoffs for a crew representing the war-torn nation.
The “home” sport for Ukraine was performed in impartial Poland as a result of worldwide video games can’t be performed in Kyiv for safety causes through the navy invasion by Russia, whose crew UEFA banned from making an attempt to qualify.
Ukraine followers’ displayed yellow-and-blue banners criticizing Russia and its president Vladimir Putin in the stadium in Wroclaw.
Georgia and star ahead Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will make their main match debut at Euro 2024 after beating Greece 4-2 in a penalty shootout. It had been a tense and testy 0-0 draw in a raucous environment in Tbilisi.
Wild celebrations noticed hundreds of Georgia followers in a 50,000 crowd on the nationwide stadium pour onto the sphere and some climbed the goalposts to sit down on the crossbar.
Poland turned the final crew to e book its ticket to Germany, beating Wales 5-4 in a penalty shootout in Cardiff additionally after a 0-0 draw.
Poland captain Robert Lewandowski, who had scored the primary spot-kick of the shootout, couldn’t bear to look at the motion when his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny pushed away the ultimate penalty taken by Dan James.
Poland will go into a tricky Group D with France, the Netherlands and Austria. Ukraine is in Group F with Belgium, Romania and Slovakia. Georgia goes into Group F to face Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
Euro 2024 will likely be performed in 10 German cities from June 14 to July 14.
Ukraine’s second
Two years in the past, Ukraine fell simply brief in playoffs to succeed in the 2022 World Cup, ultimately shedding to Wales with a crew emotionally drained from the trouble 4 months into their homeland’s invasion.
Ukraine wouldn’t be denied this time and twice inside 5 days rallied in the second half and discovered a late aim to win 2-1. Last week, Coach Serhiy Rebrov’s had trailed 1-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina till the eighty fifth.
In a sport of beautiful targets, Iceland led in the thirtieth on Albert Gudmundsson’ s curling shot.
Viktor Tsygankov leveled in the 54th from simply outdoors the Iceland penalty field, near the spot the place Chelsea winger Mudryk would win the sport half-hour later.
Ukraine begins in opposition to Romania in Munich on June 17, then performs Slovakia in Düsseldorf on June 21 and top-seeded Belgium on June 26 in Stuttgart.
Georgia rising
Georgian gamers have been European champions earlier than — in the Soviet Union squad that received the inaugural title in 1960.
Now the unbiased republic has earned the appropriate to make its personal soccer historical past in Germany.
The decisive penalty Tuesday was scored by substitute Nika Kvekveskiri positioned his excellent shot low into the nook to seal Georgia’s 4-2 win.
Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had saved the primary Greece spot-kick, by captain Tasos Bakasetas, then Giorgos Giakoumakis pulled his shot broad of the aim.
Georgia will begin in opposition to Turkey on June 18 in Dortmund, then play the Czechs on June 22 in Hamburg, and end in opposition to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on June 26 in Gelsenkirchen, on the residence stadium of Schalke.
Georgia’s French coach Willy Sagnol is aware of the territory nicely after 9 years taking part in for Bayern Munich.
Georgia adopted North Macedonia, a debutant at Euro 2020, in taking the trail opened by UEFA for a low-ranked crew to rise to the massive stage through their outcomes in the Nations League competitors.
Georgia and Greece performed the ultimate of a playoffs knockout bracket open solely to groups that carried out nicely in third-tier teams of the Nations League in 2022, earlier than they failed to complete in the highest two of a standard Euros qualifying group final 12 months.
Lewandowski’s fourth
Poland has performed at each Euros version since its star ahead Lewandowski made his national-team debut in 2008, together with as co-host with Ukraine at Euro 2012.
Now 35, he must be again to guide the crew in Germany in a gaggle that ought to have an emotional pull for him.
Poland begins in opposition to the Netherlands on June 16 in Hamburg, strikes to Berlin in opposition to Austria on June 21 and finishes the group in opposition to France on June 25 in the stadium the place Lewandowski starred for Borussia Dortmund for 4 years.
