Milan awaits Jagiellonia and Lech in Europa League; Górnik and Raków out

The hopes of Polish football clubs in European competitions have been dashed as Raków Częstochowa and Górnik Zabrze were eliminated in dramatic fashion. Raków Częstochowa suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 defeat after extra time against Hajduk Split in a Conference League qualifier. Górnik Zabrze also bowed out, falling 4-1 to AS Monaco in their respective tie.

Raków's match against Hajduk was a rollercoaster of emotions. After conceding an early goal, they fought back to equalize twice, including a late equalizer to force extra time. However, Hajduk secured the decisive goal in the 94th minute, ending Raków's European campaign. This elimination, along with Górnik's earlier defeat, diminishes Poland's prospects of improving its UEFA country ranking, which could affect direct Champions League qualification for the league champion.

In contrast, Jagiellonia Białystok and Lech Poznań will represent Poland in the Europa League. Both teams secured comfortable aggregate victories in their qualifying rounds. Jagiellonia defeated Iberia Tbilisi 2-1 in the second leg after a strong first-leg performance, while Lech drew 2-2 with FC Thun, having built a significant lead previously. They now await the draw on Friday to discover their opponents, which could include major clubs like AC Milan and Juventus.