Belgium suffered a surprise defeat in their opening match of the European Football Championship in Germany. The Red Devils lost 0:1 to Slovakia in a Group E clash of the competition.
In Frankfurt, the first good chance of the match was for the Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who, however, missed from an advantageous position. Soon after, the Slovaks hit the opponent. Jeremy Doku misplaced a pass near the goal for Koen Casteels and Ivan Schranz back-heeled to a team-mate. The shot was deflected by Casteels but Schranz was in the right place to send the ball past the Belgian keeper. The goal was awarded after a VAR check for an offside position of Schranz. In the following minutes, the match and group favorites found it difficult to respond to the challenge, with the Slovaks playing with a lot of confidence and looking at Casteels' goal on several occasions. At the end of the half, Lukaku found himself alone against Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka, but failed to find the net and the status quo remained unchanged.
After the break, the striker of the Red Devils put the ball in the net, but the goal was cancelled after the intervention of the VAR. The Slovaks continued to defend very cooperatively and did not flinch even when Lukaku's second goal was disallowed, which was once again stopped by the technology. In the end, the Slovaks held on to their fragile lead and produced the biggest sensation since the start of Euro 2024.
Francesco Calzona's side have collected an asset of 3 points, the same as Romania, who earlier today achieved a classic 3:0 win over Ukraine. In their next Group E matches, Domenico Tedesco's Belgium will look for a must-win against the Romanians on June 22, while Slovakia will look to pick up another three points against a wounded Ukrainian side. | BGNES
