The Poland women’s national team beat Belgium 3-2 after extra time and 4-3 on penalties in Gdańsk on Tuesday, 13 October, and advanced to the playoff final for the 2027 World Cup. To book their trip to Brazil, the Polish women will face Ireland at the turn of November and December.
In the return leg at the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk, Poland started one goal down, having lost the first match in Leuven 0-1. After 90 minutes in Gdańsk they won 2-1, so the two-legged tie was level at 2-2 and extra time was needed. According to Radio Gdańsk, the aggregate score was 3-3, and penalties decided who advanced.
Match Report
Poland took the lead just before halftime through captain Ewa Pajor, who pushed the ball into the net after a scramble in the penalty area following a corner. After the break, in the 51st minute, debutant Amy Littel equalised for Belgium from a free kick delivered by Tessy Wullaert.
In the 63rd minute, the referee disallowed Ewelina Kamczyk’s goal after a VAR review. Four minutes later, Paulina Tomasiak restored Poland’s lead, scoring after a solo run and a shot from outside the box.
In extra time, Belgium edged ahead on aggregate. Jarne Teulings scored from a free kick that the Polish players failed to defend. In the 116th minute, Kamczyk won the ball from an opponent and passed to Pajor, who scored the goal that made it 3-2. Belgium protested against the goal, but according to stolicasport.pl, Pajor was not offside.
Penalty Shootout
In the shootout, the hero was goalkeeper Kinga Seweryn, who saved the attempts of Teulings and Luna Vanzeir. Pajor, who had also missed a penalty in Leuven a week earlier, missed her spot kick again in the shootout. It was saved by Lowiese Seynhaeve. Poland still won 4-3. According to Radio Gdańsk, Paulina Dudek, Ewelina Kamczyk and Adriana Achcińska scored accurately. The winning penalty was converted by Natalia Padilla-Bidas. Wullaert, Littel and Janice Cayman scored for Belgium.
As “Rzeczpospolita” reports, the First Lady, Marta Nawrocka, was in the stands. She regularly attends women’s national team matches.
What Next
Coach Nina Patalon’s team will play Ireland in the playoff final. The match is set for the turn of November and December. The 2027 World Cup will be held in Brazil. Poland has never played at this tournament, so qualification would be historic. Previously, the Polish women’s national team made its major tournament debut at the European Championship.
What It Means
Poland are one two-legged tie away from qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in their history. The exact dates and venues of the match against Ireland have not yet been given in the sources we used. Details of the schedule will be announced by the PZPN and UEFA.
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