GENEVA — Two national soccer teams whose countries are involved in wars. A two-time FIFA world player of the year aiming for possibly his last tournament. A team that went 31 years failing to win a European Championship qualifying game.
The plotlines are vivid for those hoping to earn one of three places in the 24-team lineup at Euro 2024 that are being decided over the next week in qualifying playoffs.
Twelve nations set out on Thursday in four-team knockout brackets. They must advance through two single-leg games in five days to be in Germany for the June 14-July 14 tournament.
Israel and Ukraine could meet next Tuesday in what would be a decisive game of a bracket where neither can play at home because of military conflicts.
Israel has picked Hungary — its adopted soccer home for security reasons since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 — to face Iceland on Thursday. The winner in Budapest will travel to face Ukraine or Bosnia-Herzegovina next Tuesday.
If Ukraine wins on Thursday in Zenica — the Bosnian city where its November 2021 win in a World Cup qualifier was the team’s last game before the Russian invasion — it will host the bracket final in Wroclaw, Poland.
Poland is in a separate playoffs bracket and captain Robert Lewandowski, voted FIFA player of the year in 2020 and ’21, will lead his team on Thursday in Warsaw heavily favored to beat Estonia.
FILE- Ukraine squad pose before the Euro 2024 group C qualifying soccer match between Ukraine and Italy at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. Qualifying playoffs for the European Championship in men’s soccer start Thursday, March 21, 2024 with strong plotlines among 12 teams playing for three tickets to the tournament in Germany. Israel and Ukraine play “home” games on neutral ground while their countries are involved in wars. They could even meet in a playoff final next week. Credit: AP/Martin Meissner
If Poland wins, it will be away next Tuesday at Wales or Finland, who meet on…
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