مدير عام كرة القدم
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- Poland and Denmark played an entertaining game
- Nina Patalon’s side were clinical
- Both sides have been knocked out
Poland ended their Euro 2025 campaign on a historic note, bagging both their first goals and first win at the tournament after qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in their history. The game ended 3-2 in favour of the Poles.
The tone was set early, with Poland’s Tanja Pawollek testing the Danish goalkeeper with the first shot on target just three minutes into the match. Denmark responded quickly, nearly taking the lead when Janni Thomsen blazed over from five yards out after an excellent run and pinpoint cross from captain Pernille Harder — a golden chance squandered.
The deadlock was broken in the 13th minute and it was a moment to remember. Natalia Padilla-Bidas etched her name into the history books by scoring Poland’s first-ever goal at a major tournament, giving her side a deserved early lead. Poland doubled their advantage not long after, with Barcelona marksman Ewa Pajor finishing clinically following a well-timed assist from Padilla-Bidas.
Things went from bad to worse for the Danes when Harder, their all-time top scorer, was forced off the pitch with an injury in the 25th minute, replaced by Sofie Bredgaard.
Poland nearly tripled their advantage after Ewelina Kamczyk hit the crossbar in the 32nd minute after some poor goalkeeping from Denmark’s Maja Bay Ostergaard. Andree Jeglertz’s side, however, rallied late as Signe Bruun hit the woodwork and forced a save, ending the half with renewed momentum despite trailing 2-0.
Denmark came out firing in the second half, with Bredgaard and Thomsen testing Kinga Szemik. Thomsen eventually pulled one back in the 57th minute, capitalizing on a goalkeeping blunder reminiscent of Loris Karius’ error from Gareth Bale’s 2018 Champions League final strike.
Veteran Nadia Nadim, coming on as a substitute for her final game for Denmark, thought she’d equalized in the 70th minute, but her effort was ruled offside after a VAR review. Poland restored a two-goal cushion through Martyna Wiankowska in the 76th minute. Bruun’s header in the 83rd made it 3-2, but despite dominating late on, Denmark couldn’t find the equaliser and Poland held on in a dramatic finish.
Padilla-Bidas was truly the star for Poland on what was a historic evening for Nina Patalon’s side. Not only did she score Poland’s first-ever goal at a major tournament, but also assisted Pajor’s goal to help her side gain more cushion. Playing as a right winger, she was a constant threat in the final third, and could have scored a goal or two more.
Harder had a frustrating evening cut short after suffering an injury in the 25th minute. The Dane, who is her country’s all-time top scorer with 78 goals, would have hoped to help her side grab a consolation win against Poland. However, she ended her campaign with zero goals.
Both sides have been knocked out of the competition, with Germany and Sweden progressing to the quarter-finals from Group D. Denmark manager Jeglertz is set to join Women’s Super League side مانشستر سيتي as their new manager ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
