Wales suffered heartbreak as their Euro 2024 qualification hopes were dashed by a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat to Poland in Cardiff on Tuesday night.
Rob Page’s side beat Finland 4-1 in their qualifying play-off semi-final last Thursday and produced an impressive display at the Cardiff City Stadium, restricting Robert Lewandowski and co to just one shot in the opening 90 minutes and extra time. in time Their own ruling was attempted by VAR.
They were down to 10 men seconds before the final of the game, when Chris Mepham was shown a second yellow card for a lunge on Lewandowski.
After four full penalties from each side, Krzysztof Pieteck scored Poland’s fifth, leaving the onus for Leeds forward James to score in sudden death.
But former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny guessed right and dived in to keep out James’ effort, shocking the legions of Welsh fans inside the stadium after their side missed out on a third successive European Championship campaign.
Poland, Austria and France will compete in Group D at this summer’s tournament in Germany, with the opener against the Dutch in Hamburg on Sunday 16 June at 3pm.
How Wales was cruelly denied another major tournament appearance
The sheer intensity of the Welsh players and the fans’ rendition of the anthem “Land of My Fathers” in the moments before kick-off showed they were ready for battle. After the emphatic fashion in which they reached the final, they had nothing to fear.
Like many play-off finals at domestic or international level, as expected chances came at a premium and neither team managed a shot on target in a closely fought first half. Mistakes in sports where the stakes are high can be tolerated.
Right on the stroke of half-time, however, Wales had the ball in the net. Moore’s flick on a throw found Davies, who buried a header from Szczesny. Jubilant celebrations were quickly halted by an offside flag and an equally swift VAR review, which upheld the decision.
To an extent, it seemed that this opportunity gave the hosts confidence and a slight mental advantage, the way they came out in the second half. And, had it not been for a superb dive from Szczesny to keep out Moore’s looping header, they would have been in front.
In fact, neither side ever saw a winner that would have forced extra time. Exhausted by a brilliant Wales defence, not even the indomitable Lewandowski could find a way through.
Moore felt he had a case for a penalty just inside stoppage time, pointing out to Daniel Orsato that he had been pushed by Arsenal’s Jacob Cuvier, but the referee disagreed, and his theatrical collapse may have been his cause. did not help
Jakub Piotrowski had the best chance in the first half of extra time, missing the top right corner with a lick of the paint after a quick break from Pols, Moore passed up another chance when he invited Chiavier to block his shot after dribbling. do For a very long time.
In the final moments of extra time, Mepham’s second booking for a late tackle on Lewandowski left Wales with just 10 options in the shootout.
Wales won the toss and elected to bat and took the penalties in front of Redwall. Davis, Moore, Wilson and Nico Williams all found the net, but James could not.
Page: There are good times ahead for this Wales squad
Wales manager Rob Page to S4C:
“It’s a cruel game. That’s what I told the players. A win is far from qualification and it hurts.
“We were the better team. The first half, my message was: we were the better team and I said we will go on to win this game. Brooks came on, we had to take him off. He had not trained for two days. Illness. San and we needed fresh legs.
“I said to the group out there, look how far we’ve come and we haven’t qualified for a major tournament. There’s something good going on with this group. Ben (Davies) said it on the pitch, I said it. The group Credit to DJ, the guts to take that kick, I’m so proud of that group.
“The nation should be proud of the players. They have made a shift and something to bring us there. We have gone through this terrible, terrible experience and will be better and stronger.
“I have said to the group: Where are we going, where is this group going. They are very disappointed there, we were hungry for it. We were very close, one kick from qualification, so there is a lot to come. Good times ahead.
What’s next for Wales?
After missing out on a place at Euro 2024, Wales face just one more game between now and September, in the form of a trip to Slovakia on June 9.
They then face Turkey on September 6 and Montenegro on September 9, when the Nations League continues.