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    Cymru vs. Poland | 2024 European Championship – Play-off Finals

    Live

        Live ReportMatch Summary

        1. 🎥 Cymru captain Ben Davies is interviewed by Sgorio following EURO qualification disappointment.

        2. 📺 Rob Page spoke to Sgorio on S4C after the shoot-out heartbreak for Cymru.

        5. MATCH SUMMARY

          It was the cruelest possible end to a qualification campaign as Cymru missed out on a place at UEFA EURO 2024 with the last kick of a penalty shoot-out.

          The effort from the Cymru team in these play-off matches has been exceptional and their effort was recognised by The Red Wall, as despite missing their last penalty kick they burst into cheer for their heroes.

          This had been an exceptionally tight game with the stats showing barely anything between the teams but it was Cymru who probably had the best chance of the match to break the deadlock when Kieffer Moore headed an effort toward the top right-hand corner of the goal. Somehow, Wojciech Szczęsny pulled off an incredible save to deny Cymru.

          Cymru had never been involved in a penalty shootout during 148 years of existence and their first ever ended in disappointment after Szczęsny saved Dan Jame’s strike from the spot.

          So it will be Poland who will progress and spend the summer in Germany at the expense of Cymru.

          Cymru will dust themselves off and go again. This young team have a story to tell.

        6. An incredible effort from Cymru but they are left heartbroken.

        7. Cymru will not be going to Germany. Poland win the penalty shoot-out.

        8. James misses

          Cymru 4-5 Poland

        9. Piatek scores

          Cymru 4-5 Poland

        10. Williams scores

          Cymru 4-4 Poland

        11. 130'

          Zalewski scores

          Cymru 3-4 Poland

        12. Wilson scores!

          Cymru 3-3 Poland

        13. 130'

          Frankowski scores

          Cymru 2-3 Poland

        14. Moore scores!

          Cymru 2-2 Poland

        15. Szymański scores

          Cymru 1-2 Poland

        16. Davies scores!

          Cymru 1-1 Poland

        17. Lewandowski scores

          Cymru 0-1 Poland

        18. This will be the first penalty shoot-out that Cymru have ever been involved in.

        19. EXTRA-TIME: FULL-TIME

          Cymru 0-0 Poland

          It’s all over. A penalty shoot-out is needed to decide this match.

        20. 120' + 1'

          Yellow card

          MEPHAM Christopher

        21. 120' + 1'

          Chris Mepham is shown a second yellow for a tackle. His second of the match. he’s been sent off.

        22. 120' + 1'

          1 minute of added time

        23. 120'

          The match goes into the final minute.

        24. 117'

          There’s still no breakthrough in Cardiff. Both teams are really going for it.

        25. 112'

          Substitution

          BROADHEAD Nathan Paul replaces BROOKS David

        26. EXTRA-TIME: SECOND HALF

          Poland have kicked off the second half of extra-time. 15 minutes left to find a goal otherwise it goes to a penalty shoot-out.

        27. 105'

          Substitution

          TARAS ROMANCHUK replaces JAKUB PIOTROWSKI

        28. EXTRA-TIME: HALF-TIME

          The first 15 minutes of extra time have been played. Both teams are still trying to win this match despite the tiredness they must feel in their legs.

        29. 103'

          A misplaced Polish pass goes directly to Moore’s feet. He runs in on goal but is forced wide and ends up hitting a lacklustre shot with tired legs.

        30. 101'

          Substitution

          SEBASTIAN SZYMAŃSKI replaces PIOTR ZIELIŃSKI

        31. 101'

          Substitution

          SEBASTIAN SZYMAŃSKI replaces PIOTR ZIELIŃSKI

        32. 100'

          The action goes end-to-end as Cymru have a great chance to score before Piotrowski bends a shot painstakingly wide for Poland.

        33. 98'

          Yellow card

          MEPHAM Christopher

        34. 95'

          Lovely play from Wilson and wins a free kick in a dangerous place after nutmegging a defender.

        35. 91'

          EXTRA-TIME: FIRST HALF

          Cymru get an extra 30 minutes of play underway.

        36. FULL-TIME: Cymru 0-0 Poland

          The full-time whistle is blown and extra-time is needed in this EURO 2024 Play-Off Final.

          The best chance of the match has fallen to Kieffer Moore but his goal bound header was denied by a stunning Szczesny save.

        37. 90'

          There will be 4 added minutes as extra-time looms.

        38. 84'

          Substitution

          BROOKS David replaces ROBERTS Connor Richard John

        39. 80'

          Substitution

          KRZYSZTOF PIĄTEK replaces KAROL ŚWIDERSKI

        40. 80'

          Substitution

          BARTOSZ SALAMON replaces JAN BEDNAREK

        41. 80'

          As the match enters the final 10 minutes, The Red Wall sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. Beautiful.

        42. 72'

          Yellow card

          NICOLA ZALEWSKI

        43. 70'

          Substitution

          JAMES Daniel Owen replaces JOHNSON Brennan

        44. 70'

          Brennan Johnson makes way for Daniel James as Cymru make their first substitution of the night.

        45. 69'

          Another headed chance for Moore but he was unable to get full contact on the ball and Szczesny makes the save.

        46. 67'

          Poland are in control of the tie at the moment and are enjoying a lot of possession.

        47. 58'

          Szczesny comes out of his box to boot the ball away and goes down injured despite no contact with Wilson being made. wWth Cymru in possession of the ball they shoot but a defender stops the ball and the referee stops play.

        48. 58'

          Polish corner and they should have done better as Lewandowski heads high over the bar.

        49. 📸 That was some save from Szczesny to deny Moore.

        50. 55'

          Yellow card

          JAMES Jordan Anthony

        51. 54'

          Rodon versus Lewandowski. Rodon wins. The Cymru defender denies him passage when the Poland legend goes on the attack.

        52. 50'

          Yellow card

          JAKUB PIOTROWSKI

        53. 49'

          Moore is fouled and Cymru get a free kick. Williams sends it in and Moore looked to have given Cymru the lead with his header but Szczesny somehow got a hand to it and pushed it behind for a corner.

        54. 46'

          SECOND HALF!

          This UEFA EURO 2024 Play-Off Final is back underway!

          There’s a big 45 minutes ahead. Who can find the breakthrough?!

        57. The Red Wall have been superb this evening. They shook the stands during the anthem and have been noisy ever since.

        58. HALF-TIME: Cymru 0-0 Poland

          It’s a tightly poised match at Cardiff City Stadium with very little between the teams. Cymru have probably created more chances but neither team have created any significant chances.

          Ben Davies got the ball in the back of the net moments before half-time but his goal was ruled out for offside, which was confirmed with a VAR check. That was the Cymru captain’s second goal to be ruled out in as many games.

        59. 45'

          Ben Davies gets the ball in the net but there’s a late offside flag. Following a VAR check it’s ruled out.

        60. 42'

          Roberts on the attack up the right wing and sends it into the box but nobody can get a sturdy touch on the ball. Cymru are certainly creating opportunities.

        61. 41'

          There’s been nothing between the teams so far.

        62. 27'

          Harry Wilson goes off on a lovely run into the box. With the outside of the boot he calmly side foots the ball into the danger zone but Poland clear.

        63. 25'

          A decent Poland attack forces another corner but the ball is knocked away for a throw-in.

        64. 21'

          Williams takes the corner this time but Moore’s header causes no danger to Szczesny in the Poland goal.

        65. 20'

          Brennan Johnson scaring the Poland defence with his pace and makes them kick the ball behind for a corner.

        66. 17'

          SO CLOSE!!! Harry Wilson takes the corner and finds Ben Davies who heads painstakingly over the crossbar.

        67. 15'

          Poland force a corner. It’s taken by Swiderski but Moore heads away and Cymru counter attack, which results in a corner at the other end of the pitch.

        68. 13'

          Poland are enjoying some possession around the Cymru box but they’re unable to force Danny Ward into making a save as a shot goes over the bar.

        69. 6'

          Neco Williams cuts inside and sends a searching cross for Kieffer Moore. It was well directed but the Poland defence managed to head the threat away.

        70. 📸 Look this way please!

        72. 1'

          KICK OFF!!!

          Poland get this UEFA EURO 2024 Play-Off Final underway.

        73. '

          Save

          JAMES Daniel Owen

        74. '

          Goal

          KRZYSZTOF PIĄTEK

        75. '

          Goal

          WILLIAMS Neco

        76. '

          Goal

          NICOLA ZALEWSKI

        77. '

          Goal

          WILSON Harry

        78. '

          Goal

          PRZEMYSŁAW FRANKOWSKI

        79. '

          Goal

          PRZEMYSŁAW FRANKOWSKI

        80. '

          Goal

          MOORE Kieffer Roberto Francisco

        81. '

          Goal

          SEBASTIAN SZYMAŃSKI

        82. '

          Goal

          DAVIES Benjamin Thomas

        83. '

          Goal

          ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

        84. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🎶 The floor shook to Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau!

        85. The stadium is packed. The Red Wall are ready!

          BAROD! 💪

        86. Kick off is incredibly close. Either Poland or Cymru WILL reach EURO 2024 tonight.

        87. Looking forward to hearing some noise in the stadium tonight!

        90. Ben Davies wears the captain’s armband tonight.

        91. Kieffer Moore returns to the starting XI after coming off the bench against Finland in the semi-final.

        92. The players have arrived at the stadium. Jordan James starts and will earn his 10th cap here against Poland.

        94. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 There’s one change for Cymru from the win over Finland as Kieffer Moore is in for David Brooks.

        98. Gêm 709 – Gwlad Pwyl

        99. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae

        100. The capital is ready for this huge match to decide who will go to UEFA EURO 2024.

        101. Prior to today’s game, Ben Davies has received his certificate for completing his UEFA A Licence. Is he on his way to being a future Cymru manager?!

          Click here to read more.

        105. Despite Cymru’s long footballing history dating back to 1876, we have never been involved in a penalty shoot-out at senior international level.

          Meanwhile, Poland were involved in two at EURO 2016, defeating Switzerland in the last 16 before losing to eventual winners Portugal in the quarter-finals.

        106. “We know when we go out in front of those fans that’s our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our family. They are the people in the crowd. If we weren’t playing, we’d be in there as well.”

          “It feels like there’s more than eleven of us on the field.”

        107. The day of the game has arrived.

        108. BEN DAVIES

          Ben Davies captained Cymru to victory over Finland on Thursday and also spoke to the media on Monday afternoon to look ahead to the challenge of taking on Poland in the play-off final.

          “We’ve put some great performances in this campaign and only a couple of results have cost us that second place. Everyone handled themselves well against Ukraine [2022 FIFA World Cup play-off final] and that’s something we pride ourselves on. These games are huge, you feel that nervous energy that build up to it, but it’s another 90 minutes and you can’t let your emotions run away with you.

          “He [Robert Lewandowski] is one of the best strikers in the world and his goal record shows that. You give him a chance and it can turn into a goal. We have to be focused to stop him. We have to go out there and put a professional performance in. We need to work as a team, run for each other and work for each other, and we’ve got the backing of the red wall.

          “We’re feeling good. We’ve played against some very good teams and got good results. But it’s one game and we’re up against a good team who are in a similar situation to us. We have to be disciplined and focused now that it comes down to that 90 minutes in front of us. We have to focus on ourselves and do our job. We pride ourselves of making this a tough place to come.”

          🎥 Watch the press conference in full by clicking here.

        110. ROB PAGE

          Cymru manager Rob Page spoke to the media earlier this afternoon ahead of the decisive EURO 2024 play-off match against Poland in Cardiff tomorrow night.

          “We’ve had a great couple of days,” said Page. “Understandably, we’re full of confidence but it’s an opportunity to rest and refocus and look ahead to another tough challenge on Tuesday night and work on a game plan. You want to pick an eleven that are going to be the best version of how we want to play, but you’ve got to be able to adapt too. We’ve got the strength in depth and the opportunity to change things if need be.

          “It’s going to be a tough challenge but we’re prepared for it. We believe we can get a positive result. It shows how far we’ve come in a short space of time that we’re just one tournament on from Gareth’s [Bale] retirement. It’s significant and shows the quality we’ve got coming through. We’re all in it together, it’s still a work in progress, but the players love it. Our supporters are massive for us and we need to use that to our advantage to get ourselves over the line.

          “They’ve got a new manger and have had positive results since. They’re here for a reason, but it’s about us playing the best we can play. We’ve proved in the past we can cope with situations like this and we will do it again. The players will be fired up and ready to go. Our players expect to qualify for major tournaments now and that makes our jobs as coaches easier. They’ve had a taste of it and they want more of it.”

          🎥 Watch the press conference in full by clicking here.

        112. THE OFFICIALS

          Experienced Italian referee Daniele Orsato will take charge of the match between Cymru and Poland on Tuesday night.

          The 48-year old has been on the FIFA list since 2010 and refereed three games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. A familiar face in the UEFA Champions League, Orsato was the referee for the final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in 2020.

          Orsato will be assisted by Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini while Davide Massa is the fourth official. Massimiliano Irrati has been appointed as VAR and he will be assisted by Paolo Valeri. All of the officials are from Italy.

        114. David Brooks opened the scoring inside the first three minutes of the EURO 2024 play-off semi-final victory over Finland on Thursday and is now targeting a place at the finals in Germany this summer.

          “We’re halfway there,” Brooks told BBC Sport Wales after the match. “The aim was to get to the Euros and we have another big game. Poland are a good team with good players but we’re a good team with good players.

          “They’ll be looking at us as a big threat as well. We’ll be putting a game-plan together. Hopefully it’s another special night. Everyone in there wants to play at the Euros again and we’ll be all pulling in the same direction.”

        116. PRESS DUTIES

          The Cymru squad were back on the training ground this weekend as preparations for the huge EURO 2024 play-of final against Poland on Tuesday night continued.

          Connor Roberts and Harry Wilson (below) were also on media duty on Saturday afternoon, with Wilson highlighting the threat posed by Polish striker Robert Lewandowski. “His hunger to score goals is the biggest thing,” said Wilson.

          “Everywhere he’s been in his career he’s scored, for club and for country. He’s going to be their biggest threat. He might not be getting younger, but if we give him half a sniff at goal he’s going to take it.

          “First and foremost we need to make sure we stop him. We don’t give him space and stop giving him any chances. If we do that, we’re confident with the quality in our dressing room going the other way so we can really hurt them.”

        119. PREVIOUS MEETINGS

          There have been ten previous meetings between Cymru and Poland, and it was back in 1973 that Cymru claimed their one and only victory over Tuesday’s opponents when goals from Leighton James and Trevor Hockey claimed a 2-0 win for Dave Bowen’s side in World Cup qualifying.

          The opening goal arrived just after half-time as James capitalised on a loose ball in the area and drilled it past goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski. At the other end, Gary Sprake had to be at his best to deny Poland from finding an equaliser as Cymru defended desperately, but as Poland continued to push forward, Hockey capitalised on poor defending to make the game safe on 85 minutes with a fine finish to complete the scoring.

          Cymru would suffer a 3-0 defeat in Poland in September that year, but it was their defeat of Poland earlier in the campaign and draw with England that setup the winner takes all match between England and Poland at Wembley. A 1-1 meant that Poland would advance to the finals at the expense of their opponents, and they would eventually claim the bronze medal after an impressive tournament.

          The qualifying campaign would also mark the end of Dave Bowen’s tenure as Cymru manager. Having taken charge in 1964, he had overseen 53 games but registered just 10 victories in that time. Bowen was the captain of Cymru at the 1958 World Cup while playing for Arsenal, but like many of his successors, he could not repeat the feat as a manager.

          The most-recent meetings between Cymru and Poland took place in the second edition of the UEFA Nations League in 2022. Poland won both games as Rob Page’s side, captained by Gareth Bale (below) were relegated back to League B in a campaign where World Cup qualification took preference for Cymru.

        121. Cymru return to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night for a winner-takes-all match against Poland with a place at EURO 2024 at stake.

          While goals from David Brooks, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and Dan James booked Cymru’s place in the play-off final with a convincing 4-1 victory over Finland on Thursday night, Poland were making light work of Estonia in Warsaw as they claimed a 5-1 win.

          The Red Wall created another incredible atmosphere in the capital on Thursday and home advantage could prove crucial for Rob Page’s side in what will be an intense match against a Poland side captained by their all-time leading goalscorer and appearance holder, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. Kick off is at 7.45pm.

        122. There is no live report available for this match

        Lineups

        Starting

          Substitutes

            Starting

              Substitutes

                Match Info

                Stadium

                Date & Time

                Referee

                Fourth Official

                Assistant Referees

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