EURO 2024 Roundup, Matchday 4
Here is a recap of the games that took place on Matchday 4 of EURO 2024, which featured some unexpected outcomes and standout individual performances.
Romania 3-0 Ukraine
Romania secured their first win in the UEFA European Championship after eight matches by defeating Ukraine 3-0 in their Group E opener. Despite coming off of two goalless draws against Bulgaria and Liechtenstein, Romania displayed more aggression in the first half. A mistake by Andriy Lunin allowed Dennis Man to set up Nicolae Stanciu, who skillfully curled the ball into the top corner from 25 yards to give Romania the lead at halftime.
Romania stepped up their performance in the second half and quickly scored two more goals. First, they capitalized on some more careless passing from their opponents as Răzvan Marin scored with a first-time shot into the bottom corner. Less than five minutes later, Romania increased their lead when Denis Drăguș scored from Man’s cross. Overall, Romania put on a strong performance and are now looking ahead to their upcoming match against Belgium. On the other hand, Ukraine, cannot afford another loss and will need a significant win against Slovakia to have a chance at progressing. Following the victory, Romania is leading group E with Ukraine trailing at the bottom.
Belgium 0-1 Slovakia
Ivan Schranz scored early to help Slovakia achieve a major upset at UEFA Euro 2024 by defeating Belgium in Frankfurt. The game saw several opportunities in the beginning, including Romelu Lukaku missing a chance for Belgium and Schranz capitalizing on an error from Jérémy Doku to score the only goal. Despite falling behind, Belgium continued to push for an equalizer, with Leandro Trossard missing a chance and Lukaku also failing to score when presented with a one-on-one opportunity.
In the second half, Belgium dominated the game but were unable to score against Slovakia, who put up a strong defensive performance. Despite Belgium’s efforts, goalkeeper Dúbravka made crucial saves to deny Lukaku and Trossard. Lukaku went on to score later in the game but the goal was disallowed due to a handball in the build-up after a VAR review. This victory marked Slovakia’s first win against Belgium, moving them into second place in Group E, with Belgium at third place in the group. This loss was only the second time Belgium has lost their opening group game at a European Championship.
Austria 0-1 France
France started their Euro 2024 journey with a narrow 1-0 win against Austria in Düsseldorf. Didier Deschamps’ team maintained their impressive unbeaten record in European Championship openers. France, who had a dominant qualification campaign, were considered one of the favorites for the title as they faced a tough opening match against Ralf Rangnick’s Austria. Austria missed a crucial chance to score, allowing France to take the lead shortly after. Kylian Mbappé’s cross was deflected into the net by Maximilian Wöber, securing the victory for Les Bleus.
France maintained the momentum from the goal they scored into the early part of the second half and had a great chance to increase their lead within 10 minutes after the break, but Mbappé missed a clear one-on-one opportunity. As the match remained evenly balanced heading into the final 15 minutes, Austria gained confidence in their pursuit of an unlikely equalizer. However, France stayed strong and secured a hard-earned victory, maintaining their dominant head-to-head record with eight wins in the last 11 meetings. Austria will take positives from the match as they prepare for their next game against Poland. This narrow win puts France in second place in group D with Austria coming in at last place.
