Euro 2024: Ukraine celebrates a goal from Enzo Fernández’s teammate as ‘Kvaradona’ helps Georgia qualify for the first time

The Euro 2024 play-off final was an emotional Tuesday. The tournament to be held in Germany will be the last three classified: Ukraine -with the connotation of having moved so far from their lands due to the invasion of Russia-, Georgia -who will play a final tournament for the first time- e Poland -who came for the fifth time- prevailed Iceland, Greece AND Welshrespectively.

Ukraine was heroic. Not only because they had to travel to Poland to play the single qualifying match against Iceland at home, but also because they had to overcome the result.

In the final, after having raised the goal, Mikhalo Mudryk -Enzo Fernández’s teammate at Chelsea in England- he didn’t think twice, he launched an unexpected right-footed cross, in front of several legs that were obstructing the goal, but so narrow, so subtle, so definitive that it ended in 2 – 1 and qualification for Euro 2024.

The striker paid 100 million euros by the Blues, the emerging Ukrainian star, goalscorer for only the second time in the national team this Tuesday, resolved a mess that began with the 0-1 Atli Gudmunssonwhich he modified with 1-1 Chigankov at the start of the second half and remained ahead until almost the end. He ended the last seconds closed in his area.

Ukraine trembled, but recovered. And he won before extra time. Mudryk dictated it in the 84th minute to qualify his national team for the fourth consecutive European Championship. At Germany 2024 they were placed in group E, with Belgium, Slovakia AND Romania.

Georgia’s first major international tournament

Georgia and her attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia -nicknamed ‘Kavaradona’ in Napoli with which he was Italian Serie A champion- will participate his first major international tournament after beating this Tuesday Greece on penalties after drawing 0-0 in the playoffs.

Nika Kvekveskiri scored the decisive penalty that sealed the Georgians’ 4-2 victory on penalties. Greek captain Tasos Bakasetas’ shot was blocked by the Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili at the start of the shootout and then Giorgos Giakoumakis shot wide.

Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian talisman who plays as a winger for Napoli in the Italian Serie A and is known as “Kvaradona” by his fans in reference to Diego Armando Maradona, watched the result from the reserves bench, having been substituted in the second half of extra time time.

After the qualifiers, many of the 50,000 fans at the national stadium in Tbilisi took to the pitch to celebrate, with many climbing the posts to sit on the crossbar.

Georgia will be one of the lowest-ranked teams in the group of 24 competing at Euro 2024 in Germany. Together with him he will be part of group F Portugal, Türkiye AND Czech Republic.

This was the eighth time Georgia had attempted to advance to the euro as an independent nation since separating from the Soviet Union and the first time it had succeeded.

Willy Sagnol, Georgia’s French coach, spent most of his playing career in Germany with Bayern Munich. Sagnol was the right back of the French team that lost on penalties to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final.

With Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet as coach, Greece wanted to go to the European Championships, 20 years after having been the protagonist of one of the greatest failures in football history by becoming champions of the tournament held in Portugal. They haven’t been to the European Championships since 2012.

Poland, on penalties with Lewandowski and Szczesny

Not even until the tenth shot of the penalty shootout Poland neither Roberto Lewandowski It seemed to be in the final phase of Euro 2024, thanks to the definitive stop by Szczesny and the bad shot by Daniel James, without consolation, like the entire Welsh team, eliminated at the last moment, after the 0-0 with which they concluded the match. played in Cardiff.

Until then no one has failed. Lewandowski, the first pitcher of all to qualify for his fourth European Championship, didn’t make it. It will be the fifth in a row for Poland, which has endured ups and downs and disappointments in recent times and has reached the play-off final, with the merit of having also succeeded on the road. The only one of the three that was played this Tuesday.

Before, no one avoided the extension. Not 0-0. Szczesny had flown to frustrate Wales’ 1-0 lead, as VAR had previously done in a minimal offside position, when Davies had closed on the stroke of half-time inside the area. He didn’t get on the board. Without a goal in the second half, with scoring opportunities for both, the match went to extra time.

They will face Poland, drawn in group D France, Austria AND Holland.