(Football news) Last time out, both teams Belgium and Ukraine scored on their second try: Serhiy Rebrov’s team overcame a goal deficit to defeat Slovakia 2-1, while the Red Devils defeated Romania 2-0.
On the last matchday of Euro 2024 Group E, anything is still possible as all four teams have three points from their first two games, which is a record for the Championships. However, the Ukrainians are currently bottom of the table due to a lower goal differential.
After shipping three to the Romanians – a dreadful affair which saw Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin lose his place in goal for matchday two – Ukraine were on the verge of seeing their Euros adventure come to a premature end when Ivan Schranz netted for the second time in two games for Slovakia.
However, Mykola Shaparenko’s calm finish from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross brought Ukraine level, and even though Roman Yaremchuk wasted one golden opportunity with an over-hit pass to Mykhaylo Mudryk, he more than made up for it in the 80th minute with an exquisite touch and finish to complete the turnaround.
Still in with a shot of last-16 qualification thanks to their dramatic fightback, the formula is simple for the Blue and Yellow, who will guarantee a top-two ranking if they win and could even finish first in the section with all three points if they better Romania’s result.
Alternatively, a draw would suffice for third – and potentially a last-16 path – if there is a winner in Romania’s clash with Slovakia, and even defeat may not prove fatal if the latter team also suffer defeat, but Rebrov’s men will not concern themselves with such complicated number-crunching here.
Instead, Ukraine could look to follow a peculiar pattern at the European Championships, in which they have either not scored or struck two goals in each of their last 13 games – going goalless in eight and netting a double in five – and all four of their successes at the tournament have come via a 2-1 margin.
However hard he may try, the ball just will not go into the back of the net for Belgium’s all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku at Euro 2024, and while his blushes were not spared in the Red Devils’ shock opening loss to Slovakia, but it was a different story on Saturday.
A crisp 73rd-second strike from Youri Tielemans – the quickest goal that the Belgian men’s team have ever scored at a major tournament – set Domenico Tedesco’s men on the path to victory versus Romania, before a Koen Casteels punt forward went all the way through for Kevin De Bruyne to slot home number two.
There were sighs of relief all around as De Bruyne rubber-stamped Belgium’s pivotal success in Cologne, one which currently has the Red Devils second in the section and safe in the knowledge that they only need to avoid defeat on Wednesday to guarantee a knockout place.
First place will be theirs if they triumph and Slovakia only manage a draw or defeat to Romania, but a loss coupled with Romania obtaining at least one point will condemn them to another dismal group-stage exit following such a fate at the 2022 World Cup.
With the shock loss to Slovakia representing their only reverse from their last 17 matches across all competitions, Tedesco’s men ought to be optimistic of avoiding a repeat of their Qatar heartache on Wednesday, where they will remarkably meet Ukraine in a senior men’s international for the very first time.
Not since a shock 1-0 friendly loss to Egypt in 1999 have Belgium been beaten in their inaugural meeting with a fellow national team – going unbeaten in 22 successive matches since – and it has been 24 years since the Red Devils last suffered defeat in their closing Euros group-stage contest.
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