Israel’s hopes of reaching the European Championships for the first time, amid bloody conflict at home, were shattered by a 4-1 defeat to Iceland on Thursday, while Ukraine, torn apart by war, stayed the course for the final with a last-gasp comeback.
Due to the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Israel’s tie was moved to Budapest and their hopes of qualifying for the final of a major competition for the first time since the 1970 World Cup got off to a confident start .
At the half-hour mark, Daniel Leo Gretarsson was punished for bringing down Eran Zahavi.
The veteran Israeli striker rose to head his penalty past Hakon Valdimarsson in the Icelandic goal.
The lead lasted less than 10 minutes, however, when Genoa’s Albert Gudmundsson took a free kick to equalize.
Just three minutes before halftime, Iceland, who had reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, were in the lead.
Gudmundsson swept in a corner and midfielder Arnor Ingvi Traustason was on hand to return the ball on a deflection which wrong-footed Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer.
Israeli Roy Revivo was sent off in the 73rd minute, but his team then had a golden chance to equalize when Gudmundur Thorarinsson was penalized for handball.
However, this time Zahavi extended his penalty and Iceland quickly made him pay.
In the 83rd minute, Gudmundsson grabbed his second of the evening after a blistering run, then completed his hat-trick as the clock ran down.
“It’s very disappointing. We had a one-goal lead and then we conceded two easy goals before halftime,” Glazer said.
“It’s never easy when it’s 11 against 10, and sometimes you miss a penalty, that’s part of football. Then we played more. We lost and we need to look in the mirror to see what we did well and what not so well.
Iceland will now face Ukraine on Tuesday with the winner earning a place in this summer’s final in Germany.
“We were short of goals earlier in qualifying last year, and now we have Albert Gudmundsson back, and he has shown that he is a high-class player,” Iceland coach Age Hareide said.
Ukraine’s hopes of qualifying for the next Euros were kept alive after a dramatic and very late 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica.
Defender Amar Dedic unleashed a powerful strike just before the hour mark with the ball deflected into his own goal by the unfortunate Mykola Matviyenko to give Bosnia the lead.
However, two goals in four minutes in final exchanges gave Ukraine the victory.
In the 85th minute, substitute Roman Yaremchuk scored from a beautiful cross from Yukhym Konoplia to equalize.
Artem Dovbyk, whose goals took Girona closer to a Champions League place in Spain, headed Ukraine’s winner two minutes from time.
“Our players wanted to win and attacked as much as they could,” said Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov.
Wales will face Poland
Wales will face Poland for a place in the final after securing a 4-1 victory over Finland in Cardiff.
Rob Page’s side took a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from David Brooks and Neco Williams.
Teemu Pukki reduced the deficit just before the break, but Brennan Johnson and Daniel James scored in the second half to keep Wales’ dreams alive.
Bidding to reach a third consecutive European Championship, Wales will face Poland in the play-off final in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Poland, vying to play a fourth consecutive Euro, crushed Estonia 5-1 thanks to goals from Przemyslaw Frankowski, Piotr Zielinski, Jakub Piotrowski, Nicola Zalewski and Sebastian Szymanski.
Estonia had to play with ten men for more than an hour after Maksim Paskotsi received a red card for a foul on Zalewski.
Georgia, seeking to qualify for the final of a major tournament for the first time, beat Luxembourg 2-0 in Tbilisi.
Both goals came from Budu Zivzivadze who also hit the woodwork. Georgia was without Napoli star striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was suspended.
They will face Greece, the 2004 champions, next Tuesday for a place in the German final.
The Greeks were far too strong for Kazakhstan in Athens, winning 5-0 with four goals scored in the first 40 minutes for Gus Poyet’s side.
