Poland knock Belgium out of World Cup qualifying in penalty shootout — RMF24

In Gdańsk, Poland, the Poland women’s national team defeated Belgium 3:2 in the return match of the first round of the play-offs for qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. After the Poles lost the first game 0:1, the tie was decided in a penalty shootout, in which the hosts won 4:3, RMF24 reports.

Goals in regular time and extra time

Poland opened the scoring in the 42nd minute: Ewa Pajor scored after a corner and took her tally for the national team to 72 goals. At the start of the second half, Emi Littel equalised, while in the 67th minute Paulina Tomaszak put the Polish team ahead again.

The one-goal advantage after 90 minutes meant extra time. At the end of its first half, Jarne Teulings scored with a header for Belgium — 2:2. In the 116th minute, Ewelina Kamczyk passed to Pajor, who dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored her 73rd goal for the national team. The final 3:2 levelled the aggregate score over the two matches.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Two saves by Kinga Severyn

In the penalty shootout, Pajor failed to convert her attempt, but goalkeeper Kinga Severyn saved two Belgian attempts. Natalia Padilla-Bidas took the decisive penalty, giving Poland a 4:3 victory.

In the next round, the Polish team will play the winners of the Ireland-Kazakhstan tie. In the first match of that contest, the Irish national team won 8:0.