Squawka
·26 June 2024
Squawka
·26 June 2024
Slovakia played out a 1-1 draw with Romania in their final group stage game at Euro 2024 to secure their spot in the knock-out stages.
Group E saw Slovakia drawn alongside Belgium, Romania and Ukraine, hoping to go one step further than Euro 2020 and make it past the group stages and into the knockout rounds and they managed to achieve exactly that through one of the strangest groups in Euro history.
With every team managing one win, one draw and one defeat, all four teams finished on four points, with Ukraine eliminated due to their inferior goal difference and Slovakia going through as one of best third-placed teams.
One of the biggest shocks in Euro history occurred on Matchday One as Slovakia upset the odds to beat Belgium in Frankfurt. Romelu Lukaku had two goals disallowed by VAR as the Red Devils looked to equalise Ivan Schranz’s early opener but they were unable to draw level and the Falcons held on for a famous win.
Slovakia were unable to build on that win over Belgium on Matchday Two, despite taking the lead against Ukraine in Dusseldorf. Schranz was again the man on target, but this time his early goal was cancelled out by two Ukranian strikes in the second half, the winner coming from substitute Roman Yaremchuk.
With a draw being enough for both teams to go through, it came as no surprise that Slovakia and Romania played out a draw in their final Group E game in Frankfurt. It appeared the Falcons hadn’t read the script when Ondrej Duda put them ahead on 24 minutes, but Razvan Marin’s penalty ensured the points were shared and that both teams progressed to the next stage of the tournament.
England may not have impressed during the group stages but Slovakia will still need to be at their best to produce another shock and knock the Three Lions out of the tournament here. In the previous six meetings between these nations, there have been five England victories and one draw, in the group stages of Euro 2016.
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