Kickoff chronicles

Romania vs Ukraine

Day 4 of the 2024 Euros kicked off with the first game in Group E as Romania took on Ukraine in Munich. Romania were gifted a first goal just before the half hour mark when Ukraine keeper, Andre Luin gave the ball away to Dennis Man just outside the area. Man played a ball across the top of the penalty area where Nicolae Stanciu brilliantly curled the ball into the top left corner. Romania dominated for the rest of the first half but were unable to find their second and most important goal. Ukraine had a lot to improve on in the second 45 minutes if they were to take anything away from this group stage fixture.

Ukraine did the opposite of that though when starting the second period as Romania doubled their advantage just after the 52nd minute. Man received the ball down the right wing after a driving run through the middle of the pitch from Andrei Ratiu. Man cut back and dribbled along the 18 yard box but was dispossessed. Charging onto the ball was Razvan Marin who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner making it 2-0. Romania then added to Ukraines woes by knocking in a 3rd of the afternoon. Man took a corner quickly and dribbled into the penalty area before dropping the shoulder. He then cut into the 6 yard area before squaring the ball to Denis Darggus who was left with the easy task of cushioning the ball into an empty net. After scoring 3 already with only half an hour to be played, Romania decided to defend their position. They did so brilliantly in the final stages of the tie and held out for a historic 3-0 win. This is now their first win in a major competition for 24 years, and only their second ever in Euro finals history, as they go top of Group E. Ukraine were ultimately disappointing and will need to enforce some big changes if they are to get a result against Slovakia.

Belgium vs Slovakia

To finish off the first round in Group E, Belgium would take on Slovakia in the famous Frankfurt Arena. After Belgium got off to a decent start to the tie, Slovakia scored a shocking goal against the run of play inside 7 minutes. The ball was given away cheaply inside the Belgian penalty area by Jeremy Doku. Ivan Schranz ran onto the pass and backheeled into teammate Juraj Kucka who drilled a first time effort at keeper Koen Casteels. Casteels initially palmed away his effort but the ball fell down nicely to Schranz who chested it down and volleyed the ball into the far corner. It was a bit of a shock to the system for the Belgian players and fans and they turned to attack again, trying to find something before the interval. The half finished 0-1 with Slovakia hoping to cause a major group stage upset.

Belgium thought they had equalised only 10 minutes into the second period when Romelu Lukaku scored. Leandro Trossard chipped a ball over to the back post which was headed into the path of Lukaku by Amadou Onana where the striker tapped the ball into the net. Unfortunately for Belgium, Lukaku was offside and the goal was chalked off. Belgium continued to dominate the ball and came so close to scoring on many occasions. At one point, Johan Bakayoko looked destined to score after he had the ball at his feet on the 12 yard spot but was denied by a heroic goal line clearance from defender David Hanko. Finally they thought they had broken through the resilient Slovakian defence when Lois Openda made a brilliant run down the left wing before squaring it to Lukaku who smashed the ball into the top corner. Everyone thought that this goal would stand but VAR ruled it out as the ball had struck Openda’s hand as he was dribbling down the line. This was the last action of the game as Slovakia held out for a famous win and huge upset early on in the competition. It is more pain and panic for the Belgian fans as they fear another early major competition group stage exit after their forgettable Qatar 2022 World Cup campaign.

Austria vs France

To finish off the first round in Group D, Dusseldorf Arena saw Austria take on France. After France dominated the first 10 minutes of the match, Austria started to find their feet, holding onto some of the ball and creating a few chances. In the end, Austria was the cause of their own downfall with centre back Maximilan Wober scoring an own goal to give the 2000 champions the lead just before the interval. Kylian Mbappe made a run down the right wing before chipping a ball into the penalty area where Wober looked to duck and let the ball fly over his head but it unintentionally caught a deflection and trickled into the far corner. The half finished 0-1 with Austria disappointed they had gifted France a lead, but the way they were playing, anything could happen. 

France should have had a 0-2 advantage 10 minutes into the 2nd period when they hit Austria on the break. Mbappe didn’t have many players to dribble past as he found himself in the opposition half with only 2 players back defending. After he used his pace to beat them, he found himself one-on-one with keeper Patrick Pentz before somehow putting the ball wide, trying to find the bottom right corner but resulting in an embarrassing miss. Austria defended well to keep the French forwards out and in the final 10 minutes, they turned to attack themselves. They may have potentially scored but there was more controversy to come. After Mbappe broke his nose due to an aerial duel against Kevin Danso, the French captain decided to waste some time and walk onto the pitch and sit down without the 4th official’s go ahead. He was yellow carded and substituted but this shows what kind of a captain this man is. Austria continued to create more chances but the whole Mbappe incident interrupted their flow as the French defended strongly to hold out for a controversial 0-1 win. France picked up three points and progressed to 2nd in the group while Austria got nothing for their efforts and sit 4th.

Written by Ollie Wade