Wales 0-0 Poland (Poland win 5-4 on penalties): What Were The Main Talking Points As the Dragons Suffer Infamous EURO 24 Heartbreak In Cardiff?

In what was a night of heartbreak for Wales on Tuesday, the Dragons missed out on qualification for this summer’s European Championships as they suffered a penalty shootout defeat against Poland in Cardiff.

With Tottenham defender Ben Davies having his first-half effort ruled out by VAR, Rob Page’s men dominated large spells and created a handful of chances on either side of the interval.

However, while Poland might have failed to record a single shot on target during the entire 120 minutes of action in south Wales, the Eagles put in a rugged performance on foreign soil and they certainly showed their mental resolve as they dragged themselves over the finish line in the most dramatic of fashion.

With all of Poland’s five penalty takers slotting past Leicester’s Danny Ward, the pressure was then too much for Daniel James as the Leeds star was denied by Wojciech Szczesny in what was a devastating moment for the 26-year-old.

Now winning all of their seven historic meetings against the Dragons, Robert Lewandowski’s side can now look forward to joining France, Netherlands and Austria in Group D at this summer’s Euros in Germany.

On a night when Poland dished out major qualifying heartbreak to the home support in Cardiff, we have taken a look at the main talking points.

Poland show their resolve under Probierz

Securing a World Cup knockout stage ticket out in Qatar 15 months ago, Poland opened up their EURO 24 qualifying campaign last year tipped as a leading contender to secure a top-two finish in Group E.

However, getting their qualifying adventure underway in the midst of a real struggle, a shock 2-0 defeat against Albania back in September was enough to cost Fernando Santos his job in the dugout.

Although many might have been shocked as Poland’s U21 boss Michael Probierz was handed a promotion, the Eagles do appear to have found a much-needed boost under the guidance of the 51-year-old.

Avoiding what would have been an infamous…

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Author : Tom Dunstan

Publish date : 2024-03-27 16:18:46

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