Israel crashed out of the European Championship qualifying playoffs against Iceland on Thursday, as Ukraine found two late goals for a stunning win at Bosnia-Herzegovina.
A missed penalty in the 80th minute by Israel’s record scorer Eran Zahavi that would have leveled the score led to a late collapse in a 4-1 rout for Iceland. Israel had led when Zahavi scored a first-half penalty.
Ukraine’s new star forward Artem Dovbyk rose in the 88th to head the decisive goal in a 2-1 win just three minutes after Roman Yaremchuk had canceled Bosnia’s lead taken in the 56th.
Ukraine will now face Iceland — the surprise quarterfinalist at Euro 2016 — on Tuesday with a place at Euro 2024 in Germany at stake.
It was an evening of big wins and no extra time needed in the six playoff semifinals.
Poland pushed aside overmatched Estonia 5-1 and Wales won 4-1 to deny Finland a return to the finals after making its tournament debut at Euro 2020.
Greece, the shocking champion at Euro 2004, scored four in the first half of an easy 5-0 win over Kazakhstan, after Georgia had beaten Luxembourg 2-0.
The winners now play single-leg knockout bracket finals Tuesday that will go to penalty shootouts if needed to complete the 24-nation Euro 2024 lineup.
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It will be: Wales vs Poland in Cardiff; Ukraine vs Iceland in Wroclaw, Poland; Georgia vs Greece in Tbilisi.
Ukraine must host international games in neutral countries and has not played on its own territory since the Russian military invasion started in February 2022.
Though Israel was seeded as the home team, it hosted Iceland in neutral Budapest, Hungary, for security reasons during the conflict in Gaza.
Home advantage was key elsewhere with Bosnia the only one of five teams playing in their home stadiums that lost.
Euro 2024 is being played in 10 German cities from June 14 to July 14.
TOP-TIER BRACKET
Poland shared the scoring duties among four different players plus an own goal to take the pressure off captain Robert Lewandowski, its all-time leading scorer.
Estonia was reduced to 10 men in the 27th when defender Maksim Paskotši was shown a second yellow card.
Wales caught Finland cold at the start of each half. It was 1-0 in the third minute with a volleyed shot by David Brooks and 3-1 in the 47th minute when Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson took advantage of a prone defender playing him onside to convert a close-range shot.
Either Poland or Wales will go into a Euro 2024 group with France, the Netherlands and Austria.
SECOND-TIER BRACKET
Albert Gudmundsson’s hat trick against Israel has Iceland one game away from a return to the Euros.
Euro 2016 in France came too soon for him, with the tiny Nordic nation making its tournament debut on the eve of his 19th birthday. Gudmundsson did go to the 2018 World Cup, where Iceland was the smallest nation ever to qualify, though he played just a few minutes from the bench.
Now the Genoa forward is key to Iceland’s revival, scoring his first goal with a crafted, curling free kick to level the game in the 39th. Three minutes later, Arnór Ingvi Traustason’s deflected shot gave Iceland the lead for keeps.
Israel’s frustration showed in defender Roy Revivo’s wild tackle in the 73rd to get a red card.
“We lost the opportunity with the penalty to equalize the game,” Israel head coach Alon Hazan said. “I don’t blame them, I never blame my players. I blame only myself.”
Ukraine fell behind to an own goal by Mykola Matviyenko in the 56th and turned the game around in Zenica when Yaremchuk came on in the 81st.
Yaremchuk scored four minutes later, meeting a low pass across the penalty area with a first-time shot, then crossed for Girona forward Dovbyk’s headed winner.
The winner between Ukraine and Iceland will join a Euro 2024 group with Romania, Slovakia and Belgium.
THIRD-TIER BRACKET
Luxembourg had never been so close to a major tournament after decades of being overmatched in European soccer.
The grand duchy team was left to rue a cruel video review by the match officials. It overturned a potential equalizing goal early in the second half to a red card at the other end for its veteran defender Maxime Chanot.
A full 45 seconds before Luxembourg forward Gerson Rodrigues thought he had scored, Chanot tangled with Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze who was running in on goal.
The video review and red card stopped play for five minutes, and five minutes later the match was settled by Georgia forward Budu Zivzivadze’s second goal of the game.
Georgia will have its star player, Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, back Tuesday after suspension to face Greece in its raucous 50,000-capacity national stadium.
Either Georgia or Greece will play Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic at Euro 2024.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer