Israel’s hopes of reaching the European Championships for the first time amid a bloody conflict at home were dashed by a 4-1 loss to Iceland on Thursday, while war-torn Ukraine staged a late comeback to advance to the finals. Israel, whose match went to Budapest due to their ongoing conflict with Hamas, got off to a confident start as they reached the final of any major tournament for the first time since the 1970 World Cup. Daniel Leo Gretasson was punished for bringing down Elan Zahavi just after the half-hour mark.
The experienced Israeli striker stepped up in the Iceland goal to convert the penalty past Haakon Valdimasson.
However, the lead lasted less than 10 minutes when Genoa’s Albert Gudmundsson equalized with a free kick.
Three minutes before half-time, Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Iceland took the lead.
Gudmundsson swept a corner kick and midfielder Arnaud Ingvi Traustason was on hand to fire the ball into the goal, which deflected and caught Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer off guard.
Israel’s Roy Leivo was sent off in the 73rd minute but his side had a great chance to equalize when Gudmundur Toralinson was penalized for handball.
This time, however, Zahavi’s penalty went wide and Iceland soon made him pay.
Gudmundsson scored his second goal of the night in the 83rd minute after a fierce charge, before completing his hat-trick on the hour mark.
“It’s very disappointing. We were up one goal and then conceded two goals easily before halftime,” Glazer said.
“11 versus 10 games are never easy and sometimes you miss a penalty and that’s part of football. Then we gambled more. We lost and we need to look in the mirror and see what we did well and what we didn’t. good.” “
Iceland will face Ukraine on Tuesday, with the winner earning a spot in this summer’s final in Germany.
Iceland coach Ajj Halled said: “Earlier last year we lacked goals in the qualifiers and now Albert Gudmundsson is back and he has proven he is a good player. “
Ukraine’s hopes of back-to-back European Championships continued with a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica.
Defender Amal Dedic gave Bosnia the lead with a powerful shot just before the hour mark that was deflected into his own net by the unfortunate Mykola Matvienko.
However, in the final encounter, two goals in four minutes gave Ukraine victory.
In the 85th minute, Roman Yaremchuk, who came on as a substitute, scored from Yokom Konoplia’s cross to equalize the score.
Artem Dovbyk’s goal moved Girona a step closer to Spain’s Champions League berth, heading in Ukraine’s winner with two minutes remaining.
“Our players want to win and attack as much as possible,” Ukraine coach Sergei Rebrov said.
wales vs poland
Wales will compete with Poland for a place in the final after beating Finland 4-1 in Cardiff.
Rob Page’s side took a two-goal lead thanks to goals from David Brooks and Neco Williams.
Tim Pukki reduced the deficit before the break but second-half goals from Brennan Johnson and Daniel James kept Wales’ dream alive.
Wales will face Poland in the play-off final in Cardiff on Tuesday as they seek a third consecutive European Cup title.
Poland, which is aiming to participate in the European Cup for the fourth consecutive time, relies on Przemyslaw Frankski, Peter Zielinski, Jakub Petrovski, Nikolai Zalewski and Sebastian Szymanski’s goal beat Estonia 5-1.
Estonia had to play with 10 men for over an hour after Maxim Paskocz was sent off for a foul on Zalewski.
Georgia defeated Luxembourg 2-0 in Tbilisi to advance to the final of a major tournament for the first time.
Both goals came from Budu Zivzivadze, who also hit the woodwork. Georgia was without Napoli star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is suspended.
Next Tuesday they will face the 2004 champions Greece for a place in Germany.
Greece were too strong for Kazakhstan in Athens, with Gus Poyet’s side scoring four goals in the opening 40 minutes to win 5-0.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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