The Polish national team sensationally lost to Moldova 3-2
On June 20, as part of the qualification for the 2024 UEFA European Championship, the Polish national team played an away game against the Moldovan national team. Despite leading 2-0 during the game, the Poles conceded three goals to the underdogs and lost 3-2. It is worth noting that the Polish team had never before lost to a team ranked so low in the FIFA rankings, as reported by TVP World.
Thus, Fernando Santos' team tarnished the "achievement" of Leo Benhakker's team during the Euro 2008 qualifiers when the team, under the Dutch coach's guidance, lost 1-0 to Armenia in Yerevan, which was ranked 128th in the FIFA rankings at that time. Currently, Moldova occupies the 171st position in the world rankings.
For a long time, it seemed like an easy game for the Poles. They confidently went into halftime with a 2-0 lead, and nothing foreshadowed a catastrophe. However, everything fell apart in the second half, with the turning point being... Piotr Zielinski. In the 48th minute, he made a terrible mistake, losing the ball, and Ion Nicolaescu turned the situation into a goal.
"I believe it started with me. I woke up the Moldovan national team. I take full responsibility. Such defeats are impossible to bear, especially when almost the entire team is on the opponent's half. I took it terribly, then tried to save the situation, but it all went wrong. They were waiting for a moment that I presented to them," explained the Napoli midfielder.
The Moldovan national team is considered one of the weakest teams in Europe. Moldova lost nine out of ten matches in the World Cup qualifiers for Qatar. Their last victory in the qualifiers took place in 2019 when they defeated Andorra 1-0. Only four teams from Europe are ranked lower in the UEFA national team rankings: Malta, Liechtenstein, Andorra, and San Marino.
The victory over Poland was a landmark achievement for the team under the guidance of Serghei Cleşcenko. According to local fans, it was the greatest triumph in the history of Moldovan football. However, for the Polish team, June 20 will be remembered as one of the biggest embarrassments.
It's worth mentioning that the Ukrainian national team also faced some difficulties on June 19 when they defeated one of the underdogs of European football, the Maltese national team. Under the guidance of Serhiy Rebrov, Ukraine scored a single goal from a penalty kick, converted by Viktor Tsyhankov.