Ukraine, Poland qualify for Euros

London, March 27

Ukraine found another late winning goal in another comeback win. Georgia and Poland held their nerve in penalty shootouts. All are going to the European Championship. The 24-nation Euro 2024 lineup was finalised on Tuesday with three qualifying playoffs giving a stronger eastern European flavor to the tournament that opens June 14 in Germany.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s sweeping low shot in the 84th minute lifted Ukraine to a 2-1 victory over Iceland and a second late comeback win in the playoffs for a team representing the war-torn country. The “home” game for Ukraine was played in neutral Poland because international games cannot be played in Kyiv for security reasons during the military invasion by Russia, whose team UEFA banned from trying to qualify.

Georgia and star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will make their major tournament debut at Euro 2024 after beating Greece 4-2 in a penalty shootout. It had been a tense and testy 0-0 draw in a raucous atmosphere in Tbilisi. Poland became the last team to book its ticket to Germany, beating Wales 5-4 in a penalty shootout in Cardiff also after a 0-0 draw. — AP

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