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Poland's U-21 team books Euro 2027 spot despite 6-2 loss to Italy

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2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification map
Image credit: Hansbaer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In brief

Poland's under-21 side qualified directly for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship on October 6, 2026, even after losing 6-2 to Italy in its final qualifying match. Poland secured the tournament's single "best runner-up" slot ahead of Greece, who instead must go through play-offs.

Poland's under-21 national football team has qualified for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, finals that will be co-hosted by Albania and Serbia. Confirmation came on October 6, 2026, a day after Poland's 6-2 defeat to Italy in Pescara, once results from two other qualifying groups became known, according to Interia Sport.

What happened in the final round

Poland, coached by Jerzy Brzęczek, went into the last matchday of Group E qualifying three points clear of Italy and needing only a draw in Pescara to win the group outright. Instead, Italy won 6-2 at the Stadio Adriatico on October 5, 2026, with goals from Koleosho, Ndour (two), Lipani, Fini and Cherubini; Mikołajewski and Żewłakow scored for Poland, according to Unione Sarda.

The result left both teams level on 27 points from ten matches, but Italy topped the group on goal difference, 32-7 against Poland's 28-8, per the same report. That result cost Poland first place and the automatic qualification that comes with it.

Why Poland still qualified

Under UEFA's format for this qualifying cycle, the nine group winners advance automatically, and so does the single runner-up with the best record across all groups — with results against each group's bottom-placed team discarded from the comparison, UEFA states on its official website. The other eight runners-up go into two-legged play-offs for the remaining four finals places.

Poland's fate as a runner-up depended on matches elsewhere. In Group F, Greece needed to beat Northern Ireland by at least two goals to overtake Poland's record; Greece won only 1-0, according to Interia Sport. Germany beat Georgia 2-0 in the same group, a result that did not change the outcome for Poland. With Greece's win margin falling short, Poland kept the best-runner-up spot on goal difference.

UEFA's own list of qualifiers names Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain as the ten teams that reached the finals directly, joining hosts Albania and Serbia. Greece is instead listed among the eight teams going into November's play-offs, alongside Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Türkiye.

The coach's reaction

Brzęczek said after the result in Italy that, as the team's coach, he accepted responsibility for the defeat, according to Sportowe Fakty. He added that Italy had clearly been the better side on the night, saying there was nothing to excuse.

Football's God warned us yesterday, showed us, tested us, but today concluded that in these nine matches we deserved to qualify.

— Jerzy Brzęczek, Poland U-21 head coach, quoted by PolsatSport (translated from Polish)

Group E final standings

2027 Euro U-21 qualifying, Group E, final table
TeamPldWDLGFGAGD
Italy10901327+25
Poland10901288+20
Sweden104151222-10
Montenegro103341316-3
North Macedonia10217820-12
Armenia10019525-20

Background

Before the loss to Italy, Poland had won nine consecutive qualifiers in Group E, a run that built the large goal difference which ultimately proved decisive, Interia Sport reported. The 2027 finals are scheduled to run from June 16 to July 3, 2027, according to UEFA, with the draw for the tournament to follow later.

Unione Sarda described the 6-2 win as a resounding victory for Italy's under-21 side, one that lifted Italy above Poland on goal difference to take first place in the group.

Questions

Did Poland win or lose its last qualifying match?
Poland lost 6-2 to Italy on October 5, 2026, in Pescara, but still qualified because of its results across the full campaign, according to Unione Sarda and Interia Sport.
How did Poland qualify despite losing to Italy?
UEFA's rules for this cycle give automatic qualification to the nine group winners plus the single best-placed runner-up. Poland was the best runner-up, edging out Greece, per UEFA's official qualifier list.
What happens to Greece now?
Greece finished as Group F runner-up but did not have the best overall runner-up record, so it must go through two-legged play-offs in November 2026 for one of the four remaining finals places, according to UEFA.
Where and when is the 2027 Euro U-21 tournament?
The finals will be co-hosted by Albania and Serbia and are scheduled for June 16 to July 3, 2027, according to UEFA.
What did Poland's coach say about the Italy defeat?
Jerzy Brzęczek said that, as coach, he accepted responsibility for the defeat, while saying Italy had clearly been the stronger side, according to Sportowe Fakty.

How the world is telling it

Sources

  1. Interia Sport — Polacy już wiedzą, czy awansowali na Euro U21. Koniec dramatycznego oczekiwania
  2. Unione Sarda — Italy's Under-21 team crushes Poland 6-2 and qualifies for Euro 2027
  3. UEFA.com — 2025-27 Under-21 EURO qualifying latest
  4. PolsatSport — Pierwsze słowa Brzęczka po awansie na mistrzostwa Europy
  5. Sportowe Fakty — Brzęczek zabrał głos po klęsce. Przyjął ją po męsku
  6. Wikipedia — 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E

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