Wales suffered heartbreak in their first-ever penalty shoot-out as Poland booked their place at Euro 2024 after a goalless 120 minutes.
Spot-kicks were needed on a tense evening in which Ben Davies had a first-half header disallowed for offside but chances were scarce in this play-off final.
Wales were reduced to 10 in the final seconds as Chris Mepham was banished for a second yellow card and Cardiff City Stadium held its breath following an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.
Poland converted five perfect penalties with Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Szymanski, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Nicola Zalewski and Krzysztof Piątek successful against Danny Ward.
Wales matched them as Ben Davies, Kieffer Moore – via the underside of the crossbar – Harry Wilson and Neco Williams scored.
But Daniel James saw his effort pushed out by Wojciech Szczesny as Wales lost 5-4 on penalties and wild Polish celebrations began.
It was a cruel end for the hosts who had given everything to qualify for a third consecutive European Championship.
Wales had beaten the visitors only once – a maiden meeting in 1974 World Cup qualifying – and suffered seven defeats in 10 games, including six successive losses.
They also had to nullify the threat of Lewandowski with the 35-year-old striker in rich scoring form for Barcelona and seeking to add to his record 82 Poland goals.
Wales made one alteration from Thursday’s 4-1 semi-final thumping of Finland, with Moore replacing David Brooks in the forward line.
Poland were unchanged from the side that put five past Estonia in their Warsaw semi-final but Aston Villa’s Matty Cash was missing from the substitutes’ bench after damaging a hamstring.
South Wales Police had promised a zero-tolerance approach to anyone attempting to take pyrotechnics into Cardiff City Stadium after Poland’s previous visit in September 2022.
But the Polish end was lit up with flares as the two teams gathered for the pre-match anthems.
Poland sought to take the sting out of a fever-pitched atmosphere by frustrating Wales with their ball possession.
Karol Swiderski narrowly failed to get on the end of a Bartosz Slisz cross and Jakub Piotrowski fired over from 25 yards as Poland settled quickly.
Wales’ best moments were from set-pieces: Davies heading over a Wilson corner and Moore planting another chance wide.
Moore also came close to being the beneficiary of Joe Rodon’s flick-on from a Connor Roberts long throw but ran out of room by the byline.
Wales had edged their way back into the contest as the interval approached and had the ball in the net in the final moments of the half.
Moore met Williams’ cross at the far post and Davies guided his knockdown beyond Szczesny in the Poland goal.
The assistant referee’s flag cut short Welsh joy and VAR showed it was a correct call with Davies offside by a matter of inches.
Wales did manage the first on-target effort four minutes after the restart when Szczesny superbly clawed away Moore’s header from under his crossbar.
It looked as if Poland were wobbling but composure was rediscovered and crosses began to be swung into the Wales penalty area with increasing regularity.
Jakub Kiwior cleared the crossbar from six yards and Swiderski sent Piotr Zielinski’s free-kick wide.
The tension was also palpable as Szczesny held headers from Moore and Mepham and Lewandowski almost prevented extra time by fizzing just wide from 25 yards.
Piotrowski and Szymanski had openings in an additional 30 minutes that Poland dominated, but Ward did not have a single save to make in the entire match.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Slot's Liverpool success will be measured by trophies, says McAllister
Gary McAllister says Arne Slot must be prepared to aim high by targeting trophies if he is to be successful with Liverpool.
The Dutchman is set to begin his first season in charge of the Reds after being appointed as Jurgen Klopp's successor in May.
Liverpool enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the German, winning their first-ever Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
However, Slot was no stranger to success while at Feyenoord, leading the team to the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 before lifting the KNVB Cup in April during his final season with the club.
McAllister, who won five trophies in the two years he spent at Liverpool, says Slot's success will be determined by the silverware he collects.
"Liverpool is a club that's synonymous with winning, and when you don't win you fail," McAllister told Stats Perform.
"When there's a new management team, you're given a little bit more time, but the facts are Liverpool's target, I felt, and as a player that played against them for most of his career, the targets that Liverpool set, you go into every tournament looking to win it.
"You try to win every game and that's the expectation of the club and that's what makes it a very special club."
Klopp spent nine years at Liverpool, breaking club records as his team pushed for trophies on a regular basis.
The Reds enjoyed a club-record 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield over nearly four years in the Premier League between April 2017 and January 2021.
Klopp also oversaw three of the four most prolific seasons in Liverpool's history, including the club-record total of 147 goals scored in 2021-22.
Slot has admitted he has "big shoes to fill", but McAllister believes the 45-year-old will be able to live up to the high expectations left behind by Klopp.
"Arne arriving at the club, following Klopp, realising that it's such a difficult job anyway, but to follow somebody who's done particularly well at the club over an eight, nine-year period is going to be tough, and I don't think the new manager is under any illusions," he added.
"What I would say is he's a man that seems to be a very strong character, good personality, and he's just got to come in and be his own man and trust what he does.
"He's done very well in his previous managerial career and coming to Liverpool I feel is a natural progression in the levels of the game that he's worked at.
"So, everybody at the club will be deeply backing him and be right behind him, he'll have amazing support."
Liverpool's first pre-season game under Slot ended in a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End last week before the players flew out to the United States for a three-game tour.
They are also only one of two Premier League clubs yet to conduct any business in the transfer window so far, but McAllister urged fans to be patient with Slot while he gets settled in his new role.
"Whenever there's a change at a club, I think the fans have got to realise that it does take time for a new manager, a new coaching group to come in and get their ideas over to the players," he said.
"There's got to be a modicum of patience, but at Liverpool, expectation levels are very, very high and sometimes, in professional soccer, in elite soccer, patience is something that most managers don't get.
"As much as the fans have got to be aware that everything is new and there are new ideas, Arne and the players will want to get off to a quick start.
"I feel that this pre-season tour is going to help them start the season against Ipswich Town very strongly. I feel the games that they've got here in the US, here in Pittsburgh against Betis, and then we go to play Arsenal and Manchester United, the build-up is pretty good."
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