GENEVA — Two national soccer teams whose country is at war. He is a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year and is aiming for perhaps his final tournament. A team that has failed to win in the European Championship qualifying for 31 years.
The scenario is vivid for those hoping to grab one of the three spots in the 24-team lineup for Euro 2024, which will be decided in next week's qualifying play-offs.
Twelve countries will advance to a four-team final tournament on Thursday. They must win two single-leg matches in five days to travel to Germany for the June 14-July 14 tournament.
Israel and Ukraine could face each other next Tuesday in a tie, with neither side able to play at home due to military conflicts.
Israel chose Hungary, which has been its home base for soccer for security reasons since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, as its opponent against Iceland on Thursday. The winner in Budapest will face either Ukraine or Bosnia and Herzegovina next Tuesday.
If Ukraine wins Thursday in Zenica – the Bosnian city where its November 2021 World Cup qualifying victory was its last match before the Russian invasion – it will host the final tournament in Wrocław, Poland.
Poland are in another playoff spot and captain Robert Lewandowski, who was named FIFA Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, will lead his team in Warsaw on Thursday, where they are favorites to beat Estonia. He will lead.
If Poland win, they will play away to either Wales or Finland next Tuesday, before playing in Cardiff on Thursday.
The third group includes lower-ranked teams looking to follow North Macedonia's underdog path to Euro 2020.
Luxembourg have lost for most of the European Championship's 66-year history, but are closer to a major tournament than ever before.
If Luxembourg can defeat Georgia in Tbilisi on Thursday, Euro 2004 champions Greece or Kazakhstan will face each other in Athens.
playoff format
The 21 teams already in the Euro 2024 line-up include Germany, as well as the winners and runners-up from each of last year's traditional Group 10 qualifying rounds. UEFA banned Russia from participating in the tournament.
Participation in the playoffs will be determined based on the results of the 2022 Nations League group, not group standings.
Poland and Wales play in the top division of the Nations League, while opponents Estonia and Finland were each promoted from the lower leagues. Estonia finished highest among the teams in the fourth division of the Nations League.
league a bracket
Robert Lewandowski, 35, who scored 82 goals in 146 games for Poland, may have just one final match left in his glittering career.
The winner of this slot will advance to the Euro 2024 group with the Netherlands and Austria, and the final match against France in Dortmund, where Lewandowski played from 2010 to 2014.
Poland are unbeaten at home in 20 Euro qualifying matches since 2006, but Estonia won the last time they met 12 years ago. The match was decided by Konstantin Vasiliev's goal in the 90th minute. Vasiliev, now 39, will equal Martin Reims' national record of 157 appearances if he plays in Warsaw.
Wales thus defeated Austria and Ukraine to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, before proving themselves in the play-offs. As with two years ago, the draw meant Wales only played home games.
League B bracket
Israel has never participated in a European Championship before. Due to security and diplomatic issues in Asian football, the national team has struggled to qualify since joining UEFA 30 years ago.
Some Asian soccer federations have called for sports sanctions against Israel due to the military conflict in the Gaza Strip, but the key difference with Russia's exclusion is that UEFA members have been denied matches against Israeli teams. There was no one there.
Israel will first play against Iceland, who defeated England in their first appearance at Euro 2016 and advanced to the quarter-finals, making for a good story.
Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov's side return to Bosnia, where they won 2-0 in November 2021. One of the goals in Zenica was scored by Artem Dobvik. He has had an impressive debut season in Spain with Girona, which saw him unexpectedly lead La Liga for several weeks.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are hoping to join Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia as the fourth qualifier from the former Yugoslavia for Euro 2024.
“Before this, it was almost impossible to imagine,” Bosnia national team coach and former Serbian national team striker Savo Milosevic said during the playoff draw in November.
Bosnia have had three different managers in their troubled qualifying group and are still relying on veterans Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic.
The bracket winner will be placed in the same Euro 2024 group as Romania, Slovakia and Belgium.
League C bracket
Georgia will first host Luxembourg at Tbilisi's intimidating National Stadium without their talismanic star Khvicha Kuvaratskhelia.
The Napoli winger was suspended after picking up three yellow cards in the qualifying group, including the last two games against Scotland and Spain, which were not relevant to the team's play-off place. .
Luxembourg will also be without main attacker Daniel Sinani, who received a red card in the final group qualifying match. In this group, Luxembourg won more matches (5) than in the previous six Euro qualifying programs combined.
Greece, coached by Uruguayan great Gus Poyet, will be rewarded with a match against neighbors Turkey at Euro 2024. Portugal and the Czech Republic are also in this group.