Leader phenomenon: Captains of Bosnia, Czech and Poland's goals clinch victory

In the World Cup 2026 UEFA Play-Offs, Lewandowski, Krejčí and Džeko scored the determining goals to help the team to reverse or equalize their rival, laying down the foundation for their national teams' advancement.

Czech and Bosnia-Herzegovina's matches progress are so similar--both teams equalize at the final stages of their games, and eliminate their opponent via penalty shoot-out. Coincidentally, both equalizers happened at around 86th minute; both are from corner kicks, and both are scored by their captains. 

40-year-old Džeko jumped in the air and scored an iconic header to tie the score on the scoreboard. While for Czech, the story is almost the replicate. the Czech number 7 bombarded the opponent's gate with a heavy header to consolidate their equalization in the very final stage.

Plot for penalty shoot-out is also miraculous. Both teams failed to score the first few penalties, while the goalkeepers become the pivotal backbones. Czech goalkeeper Kovář   concedes an own goal in the regular time. However, thanks to his long stretches, Kovář   accomplished his self-redemption and Czech advances to the next round. 

Bosnia goalkeeper Vasilj also presents an outstanding performance, he denied Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams' penalties. They will face Italy in a few days. 

Without Lewandowski, Poland might not be able to reverberate from a 0-1 behind mood. At 63rd minute, Lewandowski's header from the far post opens the scoring mindset for the Polish players, Zielinski's fabulous long shot locks in their position in the next round. 

The way ahead could be more cruel--one match left, only 4 will be left, but the stories like these would always be told and spread.