The 171st-ranked Moldova upset the 23rd-ranked Poland in an upset.
The Moldovans earned a 3-2 victory over Poland in their UEFA Euro 2024 Group E qualifying match on Monday (July 21). Moldova fell behind to two first-half goals from Milik and Lewandowski. However, the hosts scored three goals in the second half, including a brace from Nicolaeescu, to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory.
Moldova is ranked 171st in the FIFA rankings. In the UEFA Nations League, they are in League D, the lowest group of the four leagues. They have never played in a major tournament like the World Cup or the Euros. As such, Moldova’s victory over Poland is a huge upset.
Poland is ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings. They play in League A, the highest group in the Nations League, and reached the round of 16 at the last World Cup in Qatar. Poland also has a number of players who play in Europe’s big leagues, including world-class striker Lewandowski.
In a friendly match on the 17th, Poland showed their strength by defeating Germany 1-0. They went out with a nearly identical lineup to the one they used against Germany, but it was still a devastating defeat for Poland.
Moldova currently sits in third place in Group E of the Euro2024 qualifiers with one win, two draws, and one loss. If they finish in second place, they will qualify directly for Euro2024. With one more game to go, they are only two points behind first-place Czech Republic and one point behind second-place Albania, so they are still in with a chance of qualifying. 안전놀이터
Poland, on the other hand, dropped to fourth place with one win and two losses on the day. This means that Poland will have to play with a lot of focus in their remaining matches, as they may not even qualify for Euro 2024.
It will be interesting to see if Moldova’s surprise upset can carry over to the rest of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.