It’s a dream summer for football fans this year, and the energy is brewing.
First on the calendar is the European Championship in Germany and the three final spots are up for grabs during Tuesday’s slate of playoff finals.
An initial 12 teams were selected from their 2022–23 UEFA Nations League performances, but the field has been narrowed down to six. Here’s a look at who is still within reach of Euro 2024.
WALES VS. POLAND (Path A)
Arguably the biggest playoff final sees two great teams battle for a spot in this summer’s tough Group D alongside France, the Netherlands and Austria.
The Pulse on Wales: The kids are cooking in Cardiff
Cardiff City Stadium will be rocking as Wales’ next generation looks to write their post-Gareth Bale chapter eight years on from reaching the Euro semifinals.
After finishing third in qualifying behind Turkey and Croatia, Rob Page’s youngsters found their stride in a 4-1 win over Finland to reach the playoff finals. Notably, none of the four scorers in that victory featured at Euro 2016.
The team has several Premier League and Championship stars including Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies (Tottenham), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Daniel James and Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United) plus David Brooks (Southampton).
Those names account for 10 of their 14 goals as Wales remain unbeaten in seven games across all competitions. They have also lost just one of their last 16 Euro qualifiers at home (W11, D4).
The Pulse on Poland: Emerging from the shadows?
Despite being the highest-ranked team in their group, Poland’s qualifying run was dismal.
After sacking manager Fernando Santos mid-campaign, they finished third behind Albania and Czechia with an unimpressive even goal differential.
New boss Michal Probierz, however, might have found his winning recipe after a triumphant 5-1 win over 10-man Estonia to reach the playoff finals.
Alongside Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski, Poland have plenty of talent in Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus), Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal) and Piotr Zieliński (Napoli).
They registered promising statistics despite poor results, too. Sixth in attempts (147) and fifth for crosses completed (61). In both areas, they are above Spain, England, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Question is, can the team continue its turnaround in front of a raucous Welsh crowd?
The X-Factors
One of the game’s best strikers is on the brink of missing out of Euro 2024. At 35, Lewandowski is beyond his peak but still has 24 goal contributions in his last 27 games for Poland. This may be his final chance at competing for an international title.
Meanwhile, the rise of Neco Williams could be a game-changer for Wales. As the modern game focuses on full-backs, his versatile efforts are vital. He already has two goals to his name this campaign and will look to help Wales build on that impressive home record for Euro qualifiers.
UKRAINE VS. ICELAND (Path B)
Next up, two countries hope to round out a wide-open Group E alongside Belgium, Slovakia and Romania. Worth noting: This match will be played in Wroclaw, Poland.
The Pulse on Ukraine: Slowly piecing it together
Manager Serhiy Rebrov’s first nine games in charge boasts a promising record and his men are finding their identity. Under his reign, Ukraine have scored 16 goals in all competitions and have lost only once (2-1 to Italy on Matchday 6).
They finished agonizingly short of automatic qualification after a goalless draw with holders Italy on the final Matchday. It remains the only game where Rebrov’s attack failed to score.
Ukraine has registered 13 goals in nine qualifiers so far, two of which were after the 85th minute in a 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week to book a finals meeting with Iceland.
Ukraine have only won one World Cup or Euro playoff final in seven attempts. Led by Girona’s Artem Dovbyk, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin, they will look to reverse that poor history in playoffs.
The Pulse on Iceland: Can they continue to ride good luck?
Four wins over 11 matches is far from promising but manager Age Hareide’s men have rode their luck into the playoffs.
Iceland finished fourth in their group and sacked Arnar Vidarsson mid-tournament but were gifted a second chance thanks to their Nations League ranking. They made the most of it and pulled off a playoff semifinal comeback with a 4-1 win over 10-man Israel inspired by Albert Gudmundsson’s hat-trick.
Impressively, Iceland sit fifth for attempts on target (with 55, better than England and Spain), and in a tie for seventh in assists (14) through qualifying.
But it’s crunch time against a confident Ukraine side if Iceland and their Viking clap want to return to the Euros for just the second time. It would be their first major tournament since 2018.
The X-Factors
One of the stories of the season is Girona’s impressive La Liga title push and that is largely thanks to Dovbyk’s 14 goals and five assists in 27 games. His record for Ukraine is brewing, too (eight goals in 24 games).
Meanwhile, Gudmundsson is the other striker to watch on the other side. After netting three last time out, the Genoa ace will be keen to keep momentum up. He has 16 goal contributions from 29 club games, and nine goals for Iceland from 36.
GEORGIA VS. GREECE (Path C)
In Tbilisi, two countries battle for a spot in Group F alongside Portugal, Turkey and Czechia.
The Pulse on Georgia: New kids on the block
With their Napoli superstar set to return from suspension, Georgia will look to talented winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to steer them to their first-ever Euro tournament.
After holding their own in a tough qualifying group featuring Spain, Scotland and Norway, a playoff semifinal win over Luxembourg last week sees Georgia one hurdle away from history.
They found the net 14 times over those nine matches so far and notably had the fourth-most tackles in qualifying (136). Comparatively, they will want to lock up their leaky defence, conceding 18 goals (an average of two per game).
Manager Willy Sagnol’s men will undoubtedly need extra inspiration from their boisterous fans in the country’s capital, as Georgia have never beaten Greece from nine encounters (D2, L7).
The Pulse on Greece: Looking to repeat glory 20 years later
The visitors will hope a new generation can rise to the occasion two decades after lifting their fairy-tale trophy in 2004.
After denying France a perfect record in qualifying with a stunning 2-2 draw on the final matchday of group play, Greece got goals from four different players in a 5-0 thumping of Kazakhstan to book a playoff finals meeting with Georgia.
Led by head coach Gustavo Poyet, Greece are keen to press their opponent which reflects their confidence. They registered 130 attempts on goal over nine games (14th overall).
The visitors hold a better attacking record compared to Georgia (19 goals scored) and have the best defence across all playoff teams (only eight conceded).
Greece will look to ride the wave of confidence and return to the Euros after missing the last two tournaments.
The X-Factors
All eyes will undoubtedly be on whimsical winger Kvaratskhelia. The reigning Serie A MVP has 16 goal contributions for Napoli this season and 15 goals in 28 games for the national team, including four from qualifying.
Greece, meanwhile, will hope the defence anchored by centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos can neutralize Kvaratskhelia. The West Ham ace played a vital role in the visitors’ four clean sheets through qualifying and is an aerial threat (two headers). The battle between these two players could decide the game.