Wales vs Poland LIVE: Euro 2024 play-off final result and reaction as Dragons defeated in penalty shootout
Wales 0-0 Poland (4-5 after penalties): Rob Page’s men fail to reach Euro 2024 after penalty heartbreak
Wales failed to secure a place at Euro 2024 after losing their play-off final against Poland in a heart-breaking penalty shootout. The match remained goalless through the first 120 minutes with Wales managing to hold on through extra-time in a competitive match for the first time in their history.
They were the better team for the majority of the evening. Kieffer Moore was a consistent threat in the air and was denied a couple of times from the goalkeeping heroics of Wojciech Szczesny. Ben Davies, expertly marking Robert Lewandowski throughout, had a goal disallowed on the stroke of half-time through a marginal offside.
Wales were unable to take advantage during the second half and the match came down to a shootout. Poland, led by Lewandowski, scored a perfect five meaning Daniel James needed to score to keep the shootout on track. He shot to Szczesny’s right and the goalkeeper leapt across to palm the ball away and send his nation into Euro 2024 this summer.
Relive the action below plus get the latest odds and tips for the match right here:
Wales 0-0 Poland
49 mins: Close!
Neco Williams floats the free kick into the box and finds Kieffer Moore. He peels off his marker and wins the header before targeting the top corner.
Szczesny leaps to the left and flaps the ball away with a right hand as the ball looked to be sneaking in. The crowd got excited about that one.
Wales 0-0 Poland
48 mins: Poland have not lost to Wales in 51 years but they look the second best side over those first 45 minutes. Rob Page hasn’t made any changes to the Welsh team during the break.
Moore wins another free kick after Dawidowicz bungles him to ground. Good chance for Wales this...
Second half! Wales 0-0 Poland
The players are back out for the second half.
There’s 45 minutes left in this match before extra time and possibly penalties. Both teams will be hoping to end this match well before then and the opening goal could prove to be crucial.
Wales kick the next part of this tense encounter.
HT Wales 0-0 Poland
At the end of the first half, Poland had created four chances to score which was slightly more than Wales’ three. The better opportunities came to the hosts though who almost went ahead before Ben Davies’ opener was chalked off.
All to play for in the second half.
HT Wales 0-0 Poland
In the other Euro 2024 play off finals played today, Iceland have a 1-0 lead over Ukraine who saw their equaliser ruled out after a VAR check - there are 45 minutes left to play in that match.
Earlier, Georgia reached their first European Championship after a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Greece in the 5pm kick off. Will Wales be joining them in Germany?
HT Wales 0-0 Poland
Half-time! Wales 0-0 Poland
45+1 mins: It’s still all to play for at the break as the teams head into the break all square. VAR confirmed that Ben Davies was just offside in the build up to his disallowed goal.
Disallowed! Wales 0-0 Poland
45 mins: It’s an end-to-end match with neither team managing any good chances on goal. One minute of added time to go.
GOAL!
A short throw in comes to Neco Williams who flicks a cross into the box. Kieffer Moore rises and nods the ball up to Ben Davies who heads it into the back of the net.
The crowd erupt but the offside flag goes up immediately.
Wales 0-0 Poland
42 mins: Ukraine have equalised against Iceland in the other play-off final. Wales look more settled and confident now especially when they have the ball at their feet.
There’s a scrappiness to play though when they’re forced to defend as though they’re preoccupied with the ability of Robert Lewandowski and are scrambling to keep him quiet.
Wales 0-0 Poland
39 mins: Zalewski flicks a cross into the box from the left after a good run into the box. He finds Robert Lewandowski but the forward nods the ball down for a teammate and Wales boot the ball away.
Kieffer Moore collects it further up the pitch and wins a free kick after a foul from Pawel Dawidowicz.
Harry Wilson delivers a low pass from the set piece and looks for Ben Davies but his pass is too heavy and Szczesny scoops up the ball.
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