POLAND BECOME THE FIRST TEAM TO BE ELIMINATED FROM EURO 2024 AFTER FRANCE'S DRAW WITH THE NETHERLANDS MAKES IT MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI AND CO TO ESCAPE THE 'GROUP OF DEATH'
- Poland lost 3-1 to Austria in their second game at Euro 2024 on Friday evening
- That followed a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in their first fixture of the tournament
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Poland have been eliminated from Euro 2024 following Friday night's 0-0 draw between the Netherlands and France.
That game took place shortly after Poland had been beaten 3-1 by Austria earlier in the evening.
Poland - who lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in their opening fixture - still have one game left, against France in Dortmund on Tuesday. A win in that game would see the Poles finish their Group D campaign with three points but that would not be enough to take them above fourth place.
Austria may also finish with only three points if they lose to the Netherlands on Tuesday. But even if Poland end with a superior goal difference they will finish below Austria because - unlike at the FIFA World Cup - head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker method used to separate teams that finish level on points in UEFA competitions.
Meanwhile, France and the Netherlands already have four points each.
Poland were always expected to struggle in Group D, which was dubbed the 'group of death' before the tournament due to the quality of opposition.
Their chances were then dealt a further blow when star striker Robert Lewandowski was ruled out of the opening round of fixtures with a thigh injury.
Barcelona star Lewandowski was fit enough to play half an hour off the bench on Friday but he only touched the ball eight times and did not register a single shot.
Poland have now bowed out in the group stage at three of the past four European Championships.
They reached the quarter-finals in 2016, losing on penalties to eventual champions Portugal.
Poland also reached the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, before losing 3-1 to France.
Lewandowski is unlikely to play at another Euros as he will be 39 in four years.
However, he has previously suggested that he will continue making himself available for the national team as long as he is playing club football.
Therefore, it is very possible that he could feature at the next World Cup in 2026.
Read more 2024-06-21T23:19:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd