In a penalty shoot-out

Georgia clinches European Championship ticket after thriller against Greece!

Great jubilation among the Georgians ...

(Bild: AFP)

Georgia has sensationally qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time! 

Coach Willy Sagnol's team won the play-off final against favorites Greece 4:2 on penalties in Tbilisi on Tuesday. The game had remained goalless for 120 minutes. The Greek guests thus missed out on their fifth European Championship participation. The Georgians will now face Turkey, Portugal and the Czech Republic in EURO Group F this summer.

Scuffle immediately after the final whistle of the first half
In a heated atmosphere, Greece were the more active team without really scoring. Georgian star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was also guarded in a physically robust manner. The only real excitement in 90 minutes was a scuffle right after the final whistle of the first half, which resulted in a red card for Georgia's substitute keeper Giorgi Loria. There was little on offer in terms of soccer and extra time was the logical consequence.

Storm's Kiteishvili in action until the 104th minute
There, Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the crossbar with a header (102'). At the other end, Zuriko Davitashvili missed the match ball for the home side, for whom Sturm Graz legionnaire Otar Kiteishvili played until the 104th minute and Sandro Altunashvili (WAC) was on the bench (105). He was denied by Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos. Shortly before the end, Kvaratskhelia had to leave the field with a knock (109').

In the penalty shoot-out, Tasos Bakasetas, who failed to beat Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Giorgos Giakoumakis, who missed the target, caused a Greek tragedy. The fact that Georgia's Georges Mikautadze failed to score did not matter in the end.

Ukraine book their European Championship ticket against Iceland
Ukraine also booked their ticket to the final round with a late 2:1 win over Iceland in Wroclaw. After Albert Gudmundsson's 30th-minute goal in Poland, the Icelanders were able to speculate about their participation in the European Championship.

However, the Ukrainians had something against them in their alternative home - due to the war at home. First Viktor Tsygankov equalized (54'), then 23-year-old Chelsea striker Mykhailo Mudryk (84') became the match-winner. The Ukrainians are at the European Championship for the fourth time in a row, where they will face Belgium, Romania and Slovakia in the group stage.