Ivan Schranz’s early goal led a tenacious Slovakia to a stunning 1-0 victory over Belgium in Frankfurt, marking the biggest upset of UEFA Euro 2024 so far.
The game started with several chances, including Romelu Lukaku missing one for Domenico Tedesco’s team, with Martin Dúbravka saving his shot. Soon after, Slovakia took advantage of Jérémy Doku’s risky pass across his own goal. Although Juraj Kucka’s shot was saved, Ivan Schranz tapped in the rebound.
In the second half, Belgium dominated but couldn’t get past Martin Dúbravka, who made key saves against Lukaku and Trossard. Lukaku had a close-range goal disallowed for offside, missed a volley, and Johan Bakayoko was denied by Dávid Hancko’s impressive goal-line clearance.
Slovakia regained some control late in the game with solid defense, stopping many attacks. They were briefly stunned when Lukaku seemed to equalize from Loïs Openda’s cross, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review revealed handball by Openda in the buildup.
This allowed Slovakia to hold on for their first-ever win over Belgium, securing their sixth victory in their last eight matches and moving into second place in Group E behind Romania, who had earlier beaten Ukraine. Meanwhile, Belgium lost their opening game at a European Championship for only the second time.
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