Polish women's football team celebrate EURO 2025 qualification

The plane carrying Nina Patalon’s team landed at Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw just before noon, with a slight delay. A large group of fans, including young female footballers from Diamonds Academy, a football academy for girls in Warsaw, were waiting to greet the players. Everyone was eager to get autographs and photos with the heroines.

The pride in their historic achievement was immense. Smiles never left their faces.

"There are still so many emotions within us. It’s something incredible. I hope that many things will change in Poland, that Polish women’s football will move in the right direction, and that we’ll learn a lot from yesterday’s victory for the years to come," said star player Ewa Pajor, still filled with emotion.

She was the one who sealed the win in Tuesday's second leg in Vienna. The team captain, who plays for Barcelona, was celebrating her 28th birthday on Tuesday.

How did the Polish national women’s team celebrate their historic qualification? "There was pizza and other things, we talked a bit about the match, read books, and then went to sleep," said Nina Patalon, the coach of our national team.

As she revealed, she didn’t take her phone with her to Vienna for the return match against Austria. "I probably have two thousand missed calls, I apologize right away, but I just forgot it," she explained.

"I’m only now starting to feel happy. From this place, I want to thank everyone who supported us and even those who didn’t, because you also give us the fuel to keep working. From the very beginning, I talked about the process and trust, that certain things need to happen for the team to come together. We have to fall a few times to get back up and know who will fight and sacrifice in the key moments. And that was evident in the last four matches," she emphasized.

Now, as the coach admitted, she needs a break. "These last few months have been very intense, requiring a lot of focus and disconnecting from life. Everyone now needs about three weeks of rest," she concluded.

The White and Reds had never played in the European Championship before. They will debut in the 14th edition, which will take place next year in Switzerland. They secured their qualification through a two-step play-off. First, they defeated Romania (2:1 and 4:1) in a two-legged tie, and then Austria (1:0 and 1:0). After the final whistle, there was no end to the joy of this historic achievement.

"I hope that this long-awaited success of the senior team will lead to a true boom in women's football in our country," said Grzegorz Majewski, the sports director of Czarni Sosnowiec, who have won the national championship 13 times in women's football.

Next year's European Championship will take place from July 2 to 27. It will be held at eight stadiums in Switzerland. The tournament will feature 16 teams, and the group draw will take place on December 16.