6/21/24
Group E
Slovakia 1 vs. Ukraine 2

Sloppy Slovaks Yarem-chuk away early momentum

Gregor Hynds, 41 min ago
Ukraine came from a goal down to win 2-1 against Slovakia, leapfrogging their opponents into second place of Euro 2024 Group E in Düsseldorf.

In their first-ever meeting at a major tournament, Slovakia took on Ukraine looking to capitalise on their shock victory against Belgium. Meanwhile, Sergiy Rebrov’s men were aiming to banish any memory of their abysmal 3-0 loss to Group E leaders Romania. And the flow of this game initially followed form, with Lukáš Haraslín and Ivan Schranz both getting good shots off, but they were both denied by two great saves from Anatoliy Trubin.

Ukraine failed to heed those early warning shots, and Slovakia took the lead on 17’ when Haraslín’s lofted cross on the byline found Schranz at the back post. He headed the ball low and hard under Trubin, but Artem Dovbyk nearly grabbed an equaliser against the run of play several minutes later. The Girona forward managed to get the ball near the six-yard-box, but his effort was blocked by a last ditch challenge from Peter Pekarík.

A lapse in concentration from Slovakia then gave Oleksandr Tymchyk a great chance to score with an effort that went across the face of goal, but Martin Dúbravka’s fingertips did enough to push the ball onto the post. That kept the scoreline at 1-0 going into HT, but it didn’t take long after the interval for Ukraine to finally level, with a counter attack seeing Oleksandr Zinchenko play a pass into the middle of the box, where Mykola Shaparenko was waiting to hit a first time effort past Dúbravka at his near post to level the game.

Ukraine continued to grow as a unit, and they grabbed the lead with 10 minutes left, as Shaparenko became the provider with a flick-on pass into the box for substitute Roman Yaremchuk to poke under Dúbravka. Slovakia had no answer, and while Ukraine gave themselves a huge boost after such a poor matchday one result, the Slovaks must avoid defeat against Romania to give themselves the best chance of progressing to the Round of 16.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine) 

Slovania Ukraine

6/21/24
Group D
Poland 1 vs. Austria 3

‘And Baum goes the dynamite!’ as Das Team triumph

Amos Murphy, 1 h ago
Ralf Rangnick’s Austria picked up their first victory at UEFA Euro 2024 with an assured 3-1 win against Group D rivals Poland in Berlin, as Das Team extended their impressive record to eight unbeaten outings from their last nine.

Despite their expected matchday one defeat to France being unexpectedly gallant and unfortunate in nature, all eyes were on an Austria side that knew defeat wasn’t an option for their aspirations to progress. Rangnick’s side picked up where they left off against France, and the Austrians were rewarded for their early dominance with the opening goal. Gaining a yard on his marker, Gernot Trauner’s glancing header sailed beyond Wojciech Szczęsny into the top corner of the Poland net, having been picked out by Phil Mwene.

But much like their group opener against France, a clean sheet would again evade Austria, with Poland grabbing an equaliser midway through the first half. It came after a sustained period of pressure from Poland, with Krzysztof Piątek the man on hand to steer home a bouncing ball inside the penalty area. It was a familiar feeling for Piątek, who scored 13 times at the Olympiastadion for Hertha Berlin.

Stunned by Poland’s equaliser, Austria failed to find their rhythm in the second half, but such is the quality within Das Team’s ranks, Rangnick’s men were able to wrestle the lead back just after the hour mark. Coming via a tidy team move, it was Christoph Baumgartner who provided the finishing touch, with the midfielder giving Szczęsny the eyes before sweeping the ball into the far corner.

The result was wrapped up 10 minutes out, when a surging run from Marcel Sabitzer tempted Szczęsny into a foul, with referee Halil Umut Meler left no choice but to point to the spot. The Poland goalkeeper was unable to make amends, with Marko Arnautović stepping up and tucking home a confident spot kick, keeping Austria’s hopes of progression alive while all but destroying Poland’s after they failed spectacularly to build on their earlier equaliser.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcel Sabitzer (Austria)

Poland Austria game

6/21/24

Group D
Netherlands 0 vs. France 0

‘Is he Xavi-ng a laugh?’ Dutch denied by VAR controversy


Chris Wilson, 1 h ago
The Netherlands’ four-match winning run in European Championship group games ground to a halt in controversial circumstances as they were held to a 0-0 draw by fellow Group D outright picks France in Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena.

Any winner of this clash would more than likely secure top spot in Group D with a matchday to spare, and without the burden of being favourites as they were against Poland, it was the Dutch who started the brighter. In fact, they came close to taking the lead inside just two minutes, when Jeremie Frimpong’s shot was turned away by the fingertips of Mike Maignan. It was not the start France had envisaged in the wake of their recent H2H dominance, and their initial response to that early scare brought only a wasteful Antoine Griezmann effort that flew wide from 10 yards out.

That miss soon paled into insignificance though, when a mix-up in the area saw him produce what is likely to be miss of the tournament, as he fumbled an effort goalwards from six yards after Adrien Rabiot unselfishly squared the ball. A lull then followed, as both sides settled into the game after a frantic start, leading to a goalless HT scoreline that only upped the already-critical pressure to score first.

A defensive lapse from Stefan de Vrij almost gifted France the lead, when his failed offside trap kept Marcus Thuram onside. However, the Inter man could only blaze agonisingly over the bar as he bore down on goal under pressure from Virgil van Dijk. French pressure was building on Bart Verburggen’s goalmouth, but two chances went begging in and around the hour mark. Aurélien Tchouaméni powered a header over from close range, before Griezmann again scuffed an effort wide from inside the six yard box.

Yet for all France’s pressure, it was Maignan that was the first to pick the ball out of his net. Xavi Simons slammed home a loose ball 20 minutes from time, but to the dismay of those in orange, an offside Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have interfered with Maignan’s ability to dive. The goal was duly chalked off. Even the Netherlands’ super-sub Wout Weghorst couldn’t inspire them to a late winner, with the final result marking the two nations’ first goalless H2H since 2004.

After a game where nerves ultimately prevailed over skill, this stalemate leaves Group D wide open. But with France facing group basement dwellers Poland on the final day, they may believe they are in pole position to take top spot – and, in turn, craft an easier path to the final on paper.

Flashscore Man of the Match: N'Golo Kanté (France)

Netherlands France game