Belgium v Slovakia: Euro 2024 – live | Euro 2024

Half-time reading

What else did we expect from a man whose surname is an anagram of I, Huge?

Half time: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia

45+3 min Slovakia take a short corner on the left. Haraslin crosses deep and Kucka heads a difficult chance off target.

45+1 min “To Chris N’s point (25 min), at the risk of straying into Jonathan Wilson’s turf, it seems to me that rather than a smooth progression to a more sophisticated future, football is a series of back and forths whereby players and tactics are rejected as passé then rediscovered as exciting novelties,” says Tom Hopkins. “In time, I think this will become known as the Niclas Füllkrug Effect.”

What is this nuance of which you speak?

45 min Two minutes of added time. The first half has flown by.

44 min As scruffy as Belgium have been, Lukaku has had three pretty good chances. You have to feel for him, especially after that utter nightmare he had against Croatia in their decisive World Cup game.

42 min: Chance for Lukaku! Carrasco, inside his own half, curls a superb ball over the top for Lukaku. He gets to it first, ahead of the last man Hancko, but his touch round Dubravka is far too heavy and goes behind for a goalkick.

Poor Lukaku has had a nightmare at major tournaments in recent times.

41 min Schranz is booked for a tactical foul.

40 min: Fine save by Casteels! Slovakia have been fantastic. They work the ball neatly down the right to release the tireless Kucka, who looks up and picks out Haraslin on the edge of the area. He sidefoots a careful, technically superb volley that is palmed away by Casteels, diving a long way to his left. That would have been a wonderful goal.

39 min “Let’s be honest,” says David Wall, who didn’t get the memo, “Belgium aren’t going to win the tournament, perhaps their best chance was the last European Championships in 2020. If they were too old in Qatar to win a tournament (according to De Bruyne), then they’re more so now. Considering how good that group of players have been, and that they seemed to have every position covered, has there ever been a bigger failure to realise potential? It’s the international equivalent of Manchester City assembling their current squad but then falling at the semi-final every time.”

I think we had this conversation during the last World Cup. Personally I never thought they were that good. A fine team who could have won a tournament, but I don’t think it was a particular failure for them not to do so.

In international football, the biggest failure to realise potential might be Brazil 1982-86. Not even a semi-final! (I wouldn’t count the Copa America as a huge failure as it was almost a reserve team that played the final.)

36 min When the corner is eventually taken, Onana heads straight at Dubravka. He was jumping backwards so it was a tricky chance.

34 min Doku runs at Hancko in the area and chips a cross that brushes the stretching Hancko and goes behind for a corner. Hancko has injured himself in the process and is receiving treatment, possibly for twisted blood.

32 min Trossard collects a loose ball 22 yards ou and hits an early shot that is blocked by Vavro. I love that his nickname in the Slovakia dressing-room is ‘Bobby’.

32 min Thanks to the gift of technology, we can bring you exclusive footage of Domenico Tedesco’s half-time teamtalk.

31 min A nice move from Slovakia, full of crisp early passing, ends with Bozenik shooting on the turn in the D. Casteels makes a comfortable save.

29 min Belgium continue to dominate possession but they haven’t created much since those early minutes.

When another move breaks down, Mangala fouls Haraslin and is booked.

28 min Belgium want a yellow card when Pekarik takes a shortcut through the back of Trossard. The referee decides a free-kick is sufficient.

26 min Another loose pass from Dubravka is intercepted, though this time there is no chance of a direct shot. What’s the Slovakian for ‘can we not knock it’?

25 min “Is it just me or does it seem like every other goal scored these days comes from a team making a mess of playing out from the back?” writes Chris N. “I’m not asking for a return to dark ages hoofball but at some point a correction needs to happen.”

Part of the problem is the binary discourse, for want of a less pompous phrase. The moment anyone suggests the occasional safety-first clearance, they’re treated as if they drink pints of wine and watch GB News of a night.

23 min Bosenik’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked after another precise Slovakian attack. They’ve been terrific.

21 min: Chance for Belgium! Dubavka, pressed by De Bruyne, plays an awful pass straight to Trossard 25 yards out. His golf shot clears Dubravka but also the crossbar. That was a really good chance for a player of his class.

19 min Bozenik makes a good run into the area, forcing Faes to concede a corner. Slovakia look a really well-coached side.

Faes puts a full stop on this particular entry by heading the corner away.

16 min De Bruyne slides a forensic eturn pass towards Trossard in the area. Pekarik slides in to not only win the ball but also knock it off Trossard and behind for a goalkick.

14 min Belgium started really well, with two sniffs for Lukaku, but that goal has changed the mood. A few of their players already have the face on.

12 min Apologies, it took me a while to unpick that goal. Essentially it was the press wot won it (and the skill and awareness of Schranz).

Goal given! Slovakia pressed superbly near the corner flag, forcing Doku to play a desperate pass across his own area. Schranz got to it just before Debast and flicked the ball cleverly behind his front leg to the onrushing Kucka. His stinging shot was saved by Casteels, and Schranz – very much a member of Ron Atkinson’s Wide Awake Club – volleyed the rebound into the net. That’s such a smart finish, especially as the ball came to him barely a couple of seconds after the flick behind his standing leg.

I thought Schranz was offside when Kucka had the shot, as did the Belgium defenders. We were wrong and the goal stands.

GOAL! Belgium 0-1 Slovakia (Schranz 7)

6 min Another chance for Belgium! Lukaku beats the outrushing Dubravka to Doku’s through pass, though his touch takes the ball too wide for a shot. Trossard retrieves on the left, with Lukaku screaming for a pass in front of goal. He doesn’t get it: Trossard’s cross is claimed by the keeper.

4 min That was a blistering run from Doku. Slovakia tried to press and were stripped naked the moment Doku lost his man on the halfway line.

3 min: Big chance for Lukaku! Doku turns thrillingly on the halfway line, beats two more players and squares the ball towards De Bruyne on the penalty spot. His attempted shot on the stretch turns into a pass for Lukaku, who whacks a close-range shot too close to Dubravka. Either side and he’d have scored. Still a pretty good save though.

2 min De Bruyne has started as the No10, with Trossard to his left and Doku on the right.

1 min Peep peep! Slovakia, in white, kick off from left to right as we watch. Belgium are in their burgundy strip.

“It’s my duty to shoehorn Everton references into other games, and fortunately Belgium are starting Amadou Onana,” says Matt Burtz. “ Onana is a player who vexes Everton fans; he has clearly evident talent and is adept at heading in goals. However, he had a tendency to drift through games and not take them by the scruff of the neck when it was necessary.

“Many fans will never forgive his nonchalant penalty that would have taken Everton to the League Cup semis had he not weakly kicked it straight to the keeper. Some think he sees Everton merely as a stepping stone to a bigger club and will turn it on for the Euros, then be sold later in the window as he is one of few players with value. We shall see.”

I think he’s a serious talent. His best performances have a really infectious aggression, but it sounds like he doesn’t always approach that level. That would explain why he’s wanted by some of the best teams in the world yet couldn’t always get a game for a team fighting relegation.

Belgium’s best chances to win a major competition were in 2016 and 2018. They started Euro 2020 with four straight wins but then lost taemly to Italy in the quarter-finals. In Qatar they were a bit of a mess, although they should still have qualified ahead of the eventual semi-finalists.

They’re unbeaten since that tournament, a run that includes a win away to Germany and a draw at Wembley. What it all means, I know not.

Read more on Yannick Carrasco, who starts at left-back today. Just ignore the bit that says ‘forward’.

Match report: Romania 3-0 Ukraine

Nick Ames was in Munich to watch Romania punish Andriy Lunin’s imperfections.

This is a big day for the Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco, who will take charge of his first game at a major tournament. He’s the second youngest coach at the tournament after Julian Nagelsmann; in fact he’s almost young enough to be Brighton manager.

Team news

genius

(dʒiːniəs )

Word forms: plural geniuses

1. UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Genius is very great ability or skill in a particular subject or activity.

The other match in this group is about to come to an end. Romania are 3-0 up against Ukraine and cruising.

Belgium team guide

Slovakia team guide

Preamble