UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying: Poland defeat Wales 5-4 on penalties to qualify for Euro 2024
Poland's Wojciech Szczesny saved a Daniel James penalty kick as they defeated Wales 5-4 in a penalty shootout to qualify for Euro 2024 as the final country from the playoffs on Tuesday.
Poland won at Cardiff City Stadium after a tense 90 minutes and a deadlock in extra time, securing their fifth consecutive appearance in the continental tournament.
They will be in Group D alongside France, the Netherlands, and Austria in the finals in Germany, which begin in June.
"It wasn't easy because we knew Wales at home are dangerous. For us the most important thing was to play our own game and that's what we've done," said Poland manager Michal Probierz.
"We missed opportunities to shoot more, we are aware of that. The most important thing was qualifying and nobody cares about anything else today."
Wales entered their first shootout with ten men after Chris Mepham was sent off in extra time for a second yellow card, but they matched Poland until James missed.
Wales failed to qualify for the Euros for the first time since 2012, with their talismanic record scorer Gareth Bale retired following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Defender Ben Davies, captain in the continued absence of midfielder Aaron Ramsey, had the home fans roaring when he headed into the net on the stroke of halftime, but VAR ruled it offside after the linesman flagged.
Striker Kieffer Moore also had a looping header saved by Szczesny in the second half, while Poland's Jakub Piotrowski shot just over the bar in extra time.
"It is a cruel game, that's what I've said to the players," said Wales manager Rob Page, whose side thrashed Finland 4-1 in the playoff semi-final last week and had home advantage again.
"One kick away from qualifying and it hurts."
"I thought we were the better team. My message to the players at halftime was: 'We are the better team, we will go on to win this game'."
READ ALSO: UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying: Late Mudryk winner sends Ukraine past Iceland and into Euro 2024
Poland, with captain and talismanic forward Robert Lewandowski stepping up to score the first penalty after a confident shimmy to send Danny Ward the wrong way, had not produced a shot on goal until then, while Wales had four.
Davies calmly levelled the score at 1-1 in the shootout, Sebastian Szymanski kept Poland ahead, and Moore made it 2-2 with a shot that bounced off the crossbar.
Poland's Przemyslaw Frankowski fired into the top corner, and Wales' Harry Wilson bravely shot down the middle, with Nicola Zalewski bringing the visitors' score to 4-3 before Neco Williams equalised for Wales.
Pole Krzysztof Piatek then scored a fifth, leaving Leeds United forward James with the task of extending the shootout to sudden death, but Szczesny dived the right way, allowing his team to sing joyfully alongside the delirious travelling fans.
SportsLigue