Can Poland still qualify for EURO 2024?

One door may have closed but another still remains open for Poland

Germany will proudly host the 2024 UEFA European Championship next summer. As the host nation, they have already qualified to participate. The other 23 spots can be reserved through the ongoing qualifiers which is set to end this November and through the play-offs scheduled to be played in March 2024. The top two teams from the 10 groups will make it directly to the final tournament. While 3 more will join them after playoffs based on UEFA Nations League rankings.

The Poland national football team started their charge to reach the final tournament of EURO 2024 after getting seeded in Group E of the 2024 UEFA EURO qualifiers. The group consists of Albania, Czechia, Moldova and the Faroe Islands. The White-Red were favourites to qualify from this group.

Matchday 1, Czechia hosts Poland. Former Portugal national football team manager Fernando Santos leads the charge for the first time as boss of the away side. By the starting 5 minutes, the game seemed over. Czechia went 2-0 up. The final result was Czechia 3-1.

Matchday 2, PGE Narodowy stadium welcomed the visiting team of Albania. Even though Santos’s men fell in the Group E opener, things seemed normal this time. Poland won the game 1-0. Goal was scored by Karol Świderski who was the strike partner of Robert Lewandowski in a 4-4-2 formation.

Matchday 3, a 5-goal thriller between home side Moldova and visitors Poland. Captain Lewandowski added to the opener scored by Arkadiusz Milik to put Poland 2-0 up in halftime. The second half became a burden, however. The home side came from behind to win 3-2.

Matchday 4, Poland hosts Faroe Islands who rank 135 in FIFA men’s rankings. The 21-ranked Poland men’s team didn’t have trouble. Main man Lewandowski found the net twice to give his side a 2-0 win and 3 points on the group table.

Matchday 5, Albania utilised the comforts of Air Albania Stadium to proudly welcome Poland. This time FC Barcelona frontman Lewandowski couldn’t do anything in the whole of 90 minutes. Albania struck a goal on each side of both halves. Poland lost 2-0.

This game happened to be Fernando Santos’s last one in charge of Poland. Santos was relieved of his duties as 3 losses in 5 Group E qualifying games where Poland was deemed as favourites wasn’t good enough.

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Matchday 6, Poland travelled to face the Faroe Islands during the October international break at the Tórsvøllur stadium. The away team decided to upgrade the position of Michal Probierz to lead Poland on the sidelines. Probierz was managing the Under 21 side. Faroe Islands once again fell by the same scoreline that is 2-0.

Matchday 7, Moldova who last time won 3-2 from behind played as the visitors. This time the game ended as a 1-1 draw. And it was Poland who needed to come back from behind to secure a point on the table.

Matchday 8, Poland missed out on having any chance of getting an automatic berth in the 2024 EURO final tournament. It was Czechia who held the firepower of the Poland frontline to end the game only as 1-1. This completed Poland’s Group E games with just 11 points on the table. Albania and Czechia with a game in hand each are already on 14 and 12 points respectively.

Qualification scenario

The run of Poland’s national football team was disastrous under Fernando Santos in comparison to the results his successor Michal Probierz realized. As we know from the ten 2024 EURO qualifying groups, only the top 2 sides from each group get direct entry to the final tournament which is set to be held in Germany next summer.

Poland entered the November international break with matters in their own hands. Had they defeated both Moldova and Czechia, they would have had 15 points on the Group E table instead of just 11. The 15 points would have given them automatic qualification as they would have finished in the top two without other games affecting their qualification chances.

The reality of the situation is Poland are out and now have zero possibility of gaining one of the two secured pathways from EURO qualifiers Group E to the final tournament. But they might reap the fruits of their past results.

Actually, 3 teams will make it to the final tournament via playoffs based on Nations League rankings. Poland was in League A Group A4. Both Netherlands and Belgium had finished above Poland in the A4 group. But as they have both qualified from their respective EURO qualifying groups B and F, the next best-placed team gets a shot from the playoffs path. And that team happens to be Poland.

As things stand Poland will have to play the playoffs in March 2024. And winning which is their only remaining route of making it in time for the 2024 EURO to be held in Germany next year.

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