- Wales’ hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 were cruelly dashed as they lost 5–4 to Poland in a penalty shootout in their playoff final.
- Neither team had a thrilling offensive showing in regular or extra time.
- Daniel James was given the dreaded fifth penalty duty, but Szczesny made the perfect guess and sprang to his right to deny the former Manchester United player.
Wales’ hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 were cruelly dashed as they lost 5–4 to Poland in a penalty shootout in their playoff final.
With the exception of a disallowed goal by Ben Davies towards the conclusion of the first half, neither team had a thrilling offensive showing in regular or extra time. However, a thrilling penalty shootout started with nine flawless attempts until Daniel James onto the field.
The Leeds United winger’s spot attempt was blocked by Wojciech Szczesny, though, as Michal Probierz’s team punched their ticket to Germany and left Rob Page’s team devastated. The team needed to score to force sudden death.
Even though David Brooks scored a goal in the Dragons’ semi-final victory against Finland, Page benched him and substituted Kieffer Moore as the center of his attack.
Wales vs Poland. Photo/ Wales Online
However, neither team went for the kill early on, save for an attempt by Karol Swiderski in the eleventh minute that almost missed the post. The Ipswich Town hotshot and Robert Lewandowski were solitary figures in the initial exchanges.
The game was still waiting for its first effort on goal as the half-hour mark neared. Szczesny was given something to think about in the 17th minute, but Davies’s header from Harry Wilson’s corner also went wide.
But as an extraordinarily tight first half ended, Davies seemingly believed he had headed home the first goal for the hosts, only to have Moore’s knock-on rightfully disallowed him for offside.
Though excitement soon gave way to despair, Wales should have been buoyed by that close call at the end of the first half, and as it happened, the home team took the lead immediately after the restart.
Even though Moore’s header in the 48th minute forced Szczesny into an incredible fingertip save, both teams were unable to find their best game in Cardiff, despite the passionate supporters’ best attempts.
Page took the risky choice to substitute Tottenham Hotspur’s Brennan Johnson for James as Poland started to pose another danger, while Connor Roberts was substituted for Brooks when he collapsed with injuries in the final moments.
The match remained tight as injury time approached, and after a goalless 90 minutes in which the visitors failed to generate a single effort on goal yet did not face significant defensive pressure, an additional 30 minutes finally arrived.
In the 99th minute, Jakub Piotrowski gave the Eagles a great opportunity to change that when he cut inside and unleashed a brilliant right-footed drive from beyond the box, but it went just wide and high.
When both managers began to consider penalties, Page substituted Nathan Broadhead for the unlucky Brooks, who had just been on the field for thirty minutes. At the time, it was unclear if Brooks had taken a hit or was thought to be a worse spot-kick taker.
Daniel James missed the fifth penalty as Wales failed to qualify. Photo/ Goal
Chris Mepham received a second yellow card, leaving Wales with 10 men at the completion of the 120 minutes. However, the defender’s dismissal had little bearing on the outcome as both struggling teams headed into their pre-penalty meetings.
Poland’s Lewandowski, Szymanski, Frankowski, Zalewski, and Piatek all scored from the penalty spot, while the Welsh were represented by Davies, Moore, Wilson, and Neco Williams.
James was given the dreaded fifth penalty duty, but Szczesny made the perfect guess and sprang to his right to deny the former Manchester United player. Poland then rushed to the opposite end of the field to celebrate with the visiting supporters.
Poland, who have qualified for their fifth consecutive Euros, will play in a formidable Group D alongside France, the Netherlands, and Austria, while Wales will not be competing in their third consecutive continental tournament.
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