Ahead of the playoff Path A semi-final clash, former Liverpool and Cagliari Calcio defender Ragnar Klavan, back in the squad at the age of 38, said he was: "Happy about the game that awaits us."

"It will surely be a tough challenge, but the dream we're fighting for is a major one both for me and for all the other players," Klavan, who now plays for Paide Linnameeskond, continued.

Despite having a goal difference of minus 20 and accruing just one point by the end of its Group F qualification campaign, by dint of the play-off rules and thanks to a strong 2022 Nations League season, Estonia still retained a chance to make it to Germany this summer, ahead of teams such as Sweden (who finished third in Group F with 10 points) who were already out.

Poland, European Championship quarter finalists in 2016, finished a surprising third in Group E in the qualification rounds, behind Albania and the Czech Republic.

The team sheet contains several household names, including striker and captain Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), who had scored 82 goals across 146 international appearances on the eve of Thursday's match, defender Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal) and wing-back Nicola Zalewski (AS Roma).

Estonia on the other hand was spread thin from the outset, due to injury hitting several of manager Thomas Häberli's key players, including Sergei Zenjov, Mattias Käit, and Rauno Sappinen.

Veteran midfielder Konstantin Vassiljev was also not included in the 23-man squad; he has missed most of this season's domestic Meistriliiga matches due to injury too.

Ragnar Klavan, who last played in March 2022, as noted was back on the team sheet. Karl Hein (Arsenal) started in goal, while Martin Vetkal, a midfielder with AS Roma, also played the full 90 minutes.

Experienced Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic officiated.

From kickoff, Estonia found itself under intense pressure from the hosts, with Poland creating numerous dangerous situations on both wings; notably Zalewski down the left.

At 22 minutes Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens) put the ball past Hein. More bad luck followed five minutes later when defender Maksim Paskotši was sent off for a second yellow.

Despite being down to 10 men and despite a lack of chances for the visitors and continued pressure from Poland, 1:0 to the latter is how it remained at half-time.

The Poles came out blazing after the break, however; a clinical cross from Zalewski was headed in from a few yards out by midfielder Piotr Zielinski (Napoli).

Poland did not sit back for the rest of the match and kept the heat up until the 70th minute, when a trio of goals arrived in the space of six minutes; Jakub Piotrowski (Ludogorets Razgrad) scored a cracker from about 20 yards out, an own goal off defender Karol Mets from a cross from AS Roma man Zalewski again, and attacking midfielder Sebastian Szymanski (Fenerbahçe ) making it five a couple of minutes later.

Estonia at least managed to pull off a consolation goal on the 78th minute; Markus Soomets outfoxed a Polish defender down the left flank and found Martin Vetkal with a through-ball. The AS Roman man playing in the number 10 spot for Estonia put the ball past Wojciech Szczesny's (Juventus ) hands from seven yards out.

The statistics say it all; Poland had 74 percent of the possession and made 25 shots to Estonia's one, and was awarded 17 corner balls to Estonia's one. The hosts delivered 649 accurate passes, compared with 77 for Estonia.

Thursday night was not a good one for the northern Baltic region as a whole; Finland went down 4:1 away to Wales, meaning the playoff final, in Cardiff, will be Wales-Poland. The winner goes through to Euro2024, joining the Netherlands, Austria, France in Group D.

Additionally, the winners of Path B (Ukraine play Iceland in that final) and Path C (Georgia versus Greece) will also book their places in the finals this June-July.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!