Robert Lewandowski and Poland arrived at the UEFA Euro 2024 with high hopes of at least reaching the Round of 16. Two years ago, during the Qatar World Cup, they managed to survived Group A playing against Argentina with Lionel Messi, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
However, the problems started in the qualifiers for the European tournament when they finished in third place of Group E behind Albania and the Czech Republic. In past formats, the Polish squad would have been eliminated, but got a final chance thanks to their Nations League performance.
In Route A of the playoffs, Poland got a 5-1 victory over Estonia and had to define everything against Wales. That match ended in a thrilling penalty shootout giving Michal Probierz’s team a ticket to Germany.
Why Poland and Robert Lewandowski are out of Euro 2024?
Now, during their first two matches at the UEFA Euro 2024, Poland have been one of the biggest disappointments in the tournament. They lost 2-1 against the Netherlands and then fell surprisingly 3-1 with Austria.
This is how Group D looks like at the moment with one game to play: Netherlands (4 points), France (4 points), Austria (3 points) and Poland (0 points). The first and second place of each group advance to the Round of 16 and the four best third places overall will complete the knockout stage.
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In Matchday 3 of this sector, France will face Poland and Austria play with the Netherlands. At first sight, the Polish team seems to have a chance of chasing Austria and surpass them with goal difference. Nevertheless, that’s not the primary tiebreaker.
Why Poland are already eliminated of Euro 2024?
According to UEFA procedures, this is the main tiebreaker if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the final tournament group stage: “Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question.”
Poland lost 3-1 against Austria and, considering that’s the rival for third place in their group, they have no chance to overtake them. Furthermore, France and the Netherlands are already out of reach with 4 points.
