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Slovakia’s players celebrate beating Belgium in their opening Euro 2024 game.
CNN
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Twice, Romelu Lukaku thought he had scored for Belgium, but twice, the striker saw his goal disallowed as Slovakia staged an upset by winning 1-0 in its opening Group E match of Euro 2024.
The Sokoli had taken a surprise lead in the seventh minute through Ivan Schranz after Belgian winger Jérémy Doku gave the ball away in a dangerous position.
Despite the array of attacking talent on the pitch for Belgium, including the likes of Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, the Red Devils continued to be wasteful in front of goal and were unable to find an equalizer.
Twice, though, striker Lukaku had the ball in the back of the net for Belgium, but the video assistant referee (VAR) saved Slovakia on both occasions.
The first attempt was ruled out in the 56th minute for a narrow offside, before a second effort in the 86th minute was disallowed due to a handball by Belgium’s Loïs Openda in the buildup.
In truth, though, Lukaku and his Belgium teammate Leandro Trossard had enough chances between them to get at least a point from the game.
Despite riding its luck at times, Slovakia still produced a brilliant performance which was well-deserving of the win.
According to TNT Sports, it was the biggest upset in European Championship history by FIFA rankings: world No. 3 Belgium is 45 places ahead of Slovakia.
Antonio Calanni/AP
Romania’s players celebrate during their victory against Ukraine on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, Ukraine suffered a disastrous start to its Euro 2024 campaign, losing 3-0 to Romania in its opening match in Group E.
Captain Nicolae Stanciu gave Romania the lead with a superb strike in the 29th minute, before second-half goals from Răzvan Marin and Denis Drăguș settled the exhilarating tie.
It was all going to plan for Ukraine in the early stages of the match. The team ranked 24 places higher in the world rankings than Romania was dominating the ball, but things soon started to go wrong.
Stanciu’s brilliant long-range effort seemed to throw the Blue and Yellow off their game and the team never fully recovered.
Romania, suddenly boasting a formidable sense of hope, doubled its lead shortly into the second half when Marin watched his 53rd minute shot hit the back of the net.
In truth, Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin could have done better with his save, but he let the powerful shot creep under his outstretched hand.
Matthias Schrader/AP
Romania’s Nicolae Stanciu scored a sensational goal to give his team the lead.
The Tricolorii continued to frustrate Ukraine’s attacking frontline and soon scored its third.
This time, there was little Lunin could have done as the brilliant Drăguș was left free in the penalty area to tap home from close range.
There was a flood of yellow at the full-time whistle, as Romania’s bench rushed onto the pitch to celebrate in front of the team’s traveling fans.
Ukraine is playing in a major tournament for the first time since Russia launched its full scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
Before the game, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) displayed a piece of the destroyed stand from Kharkiv’s Sonyachny stadium in the streets of Munich, Germany.
Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images
Damaged seats from a stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, are seen in an installation set up on June 17, 2024 in Munich, Germany.
The UAF said the stadium, used to co-host Euro 2012, had been destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022. The stand will go on a tour of Germany, following the Ukrainian team throughout its group stage matches.
Ukraine’s players looked sheepish as they trudged of the pitch at full-time, but will have the chance to kick-start their Euro 2024 campaign against Slovakia on Friday.
