Georgia, Poland and Ukraine have secured three of the final starting places for the European Football Championship in Germany. In the playoff final, the Georgians completed their first qualification for a European Championship with a shaky win against the former European champions from Greece.
Former Bayern professional Willy Sagnol’s team beat the Greeks 4-2 on penalties on Tuesday evening. The score had previously been 0-0 after regular time and extra time. At the European Championships, the Georgians will now face Portugal, the Czech Republic and Turkey in the group stage.
The Ukrainians, who won their final 2-1 against Iceland, and the Poles, who beat Wales on penalties, also celebrated. Albert Gudmundsson (30th minute) initially gave the Icelanders the lead in Breslau, Poland. But then Viktor Zyhankov (54th) and superstar Mykhailo Mudryk (84th) turned the game in favor of the Ukrainians.
Ukraine will start their fourth European Championship participation on June 17th against Romania in Munich. There will also be games against Belgium and Slovakia in Group E. Iceland, on the other hand, missed its third major tournament.
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National coach Serhij Rebrow had already emphasized the great importance before the game: “I hope that our team can convey something positive to the people of Ukraine.” The mission is “to show that we are still alive, that we are still against the Russians “We still need support from Europe.”
Coach Michal Probierz’s Polish national team won on penalties against Wales after 120 goalless minutes. Poland’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny became a hero. The Juventus goalkeeper saved Daniel James’ decisive penalty.