Before the match in Olomouc, the situation in the group was extremely clear. Albania had already guaranteed direct promotion, Poland would take part in the play-offs, and fifth place, with no chance of going to Germany, would go to the Faroe Islands.
A very important goal for the debutant
Therefore, only two teams fought for the second place at Euro 2024. Fate meant that in the last, tenth round there was a clash between the Czech Republic and Moldova.
Poland – Moldova at PGE Narodowy
Photo: Polish Press Agency
The guests unexpectedly had a better start in the match and would have outperformed their rivals only if they had won. They had the first shot on target in the match, but after Vadim Rata’s try, Jindrich Stanek did well in goal.
After a nervous start, Jaroslav Silhavy’s players came to the fore. And before the end of the first quarter they took the lead when David Doudera coolly took advantage of a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.
It was the first goal in national colors for the Slavia Prague winger.
The sick hero of the Czech Republic
In the following fragments, there was a sense of boredom on the pitch. Although the Moldovans were in the opponents’ penalty area several times in the first half, Nichita Motpan’s and Ion Nicolaescu’s shots flew high above Stanek’s goal.
After the break, the Czechs were focused mainly on defending a favorable result, and the match became easier for them from the 55th minute. Then Vladislav Baboglo received a red card and two yellow cards, making it much more difficult for the guests to fight for promotion.
-From that moment on, the hosts had full control of the situation on the pitch. Tomas Chory provided them with peace of mind when he added a goal with a header. And all this in his debut appearance for the national team.
Tomas Soucek made the final stop, setting the result at 3-0.
In the parallel Group E match, Albania, confident of advancing, only drew at home with the Faroe Islands 0-0.
The winner of the group competition was therefore Albania (15), ahead of the Czech Republic (15), Poland (11), Moldova (10) and the Faroe Islands (2).
Czech Republic – Moldova 3:0 (1:0)
Goals: Doudera (14th), Chory (72nd), Soucek (90th).
