As the second Wednesday match in Group E also ended in a 1:1 draw between Slovakia and Romania, it happened that all four teams have four points each. Thanks to the opening 3-0 victory over Ukraine, Romania won the first place, on the other hand, this result cost Ukraine the promotion. Although Belgium didn’t score a goal for the second time in the tournament, they held on for a promotion draw in the end.
“We didn’t want to fail. The task was to try to win. We also had chances for that. If we had taken them, it would have been easier. But I am proud of how the team managed the end, despite being under the psychological pressure that a goal conceded meant elimination, ” praised Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco.
“The group was really tough. On paper, anyone can be the favorite, but today there really aren’t any weak teams. Now we have France, but we came to the Euros precisely to play against these strong teams. We were looking forward to these matches and we will go with fight with them for advancement,” added Tedesco.
The Ukrainians pushed in the end, but they have to bite the bullet
The coach of the Ukrainian national team Rebrov dared not to use captain Zinchenko, who was not in optimal form in the first two matches. He mainly wanted to strengthen the edges of the defense to stop the dangerous flanks of the Belgians.
And the favored Red Devils really didn’t push through the wings much, De Bruyne was responsible for the most dangerous situations. First, Lukaku shot weakly after his pass, then De Bruyne himself tried to score from a free kick, but his technical attempt ended up in the side netting.
Even Ukraine did not make much progress in the attack. Dovbyk was not emphatic in the end, and when Jaremčuk was getting into a promising position just before the half, he still passed and missed the chance.
The development of the group was getting on the nerves of both teams. Belgium knew that they would go to a strong France from second place, but were also aware that they must not open the game, as a goal conceded and a defeat could mean elimination. The same was true for Ukraine, which was in non-promotional fourth place at halftime, but a single goal in the second game would have returned them to the promotion positions, so they did not want to risk defeat.
Both teams thus continued to assert themselves mainly from counterattacks and did not engage in more pressure. After one of the breaks, Lukaku got to the end, but goalkeeper Trubin had no problem with his ground shot. Even substitute Carrasco did not do well with the break.
A moment later, Carrasco checked Trubin, but Trubin intervened. The Ukrainian defense then blocked an attempt by the meandering Doku. On the other side, stopper Faes defended Dovbyk in the corner of the small area.
Since there was still a draw in the simultaneous match and Ukraine remained fourth, coach Rebrov had to take a risk for the last ten minutes. Instead of a stopper, he sent striker Jarmolenko into the game. And Ukraine immediately threatened from a corner kick that Malinovskij played directly at the goal, goalkeeper Casteels saved at the last moment and pulled the ball out of the goal line.
The guardian of the Belgian shrine saved his teammates even in the setup, when the Ukrainians passed calmly across the entire field and Sudakov fired dangerously on the ground. However, Casteels caught the ball and did not allow a stop. Ukraine didn’t create another chance and Belgium secured the promotion result.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t advance. It was because of that first game. But I’m pleased with how the team reacted to it. We showed the fighting character of our nation, unfortunately it didn’t come close. We have a young team that still has a future ahead of it,” said Ukraine coach Serhiy Ribs.
2024-06-26 18:41:02
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