[ad_1]
Key events
“It’s my duty to get Everton references into other gamesand fortunately Belgium start Amadou Onana,” says Matt Burtz. “Onana is a player who annoys Everton fans; he has obvious talent and is adept at scoring goals. However, he had a tendency to drift into games and not take them by the scruff of the neck when needed.
“A lot of fans will never forgive him for his carefree penalty which would have taken Everton to the semi-finals of the League Cup had he not kicked it weakly straight at the keeper. Some believe he sees Everton simply as a stepping stone to a bigger club and will include him for the Euros, then be sold later in the window as he is one of the few players of value. We will see.”
His best performances have a truly infectious aggression, but he doesn’t always seem to reach that level. This would explain why he is wanted by some of the best teams in the world, but could not always get a game for a team fighting for relegation.
Belgium’s best chances to win a major competition were in 2016 and 2018. They started Euro 2020 with four straight wins, but then lost comprehensively to Italy in the quarter-finals. In Qatar, they were a bit of a mess, although they still had to qualify ahead of the eventual semi-finalists.
They are unbeaten in this tournament, a run that includes a win away to Germany and a draw at Wembley. What all this means, I don’t know.
Read more about Yannick Carrasco starting at left back today. Just ignore the part that says “forward”.
Match report: Romania 3-0 Ukraine
Nick Ames was in Munich to watch Romania punish Andrii Lunin’s imperfections.
It’s a big day for Belgium coach Dominic Tedesco, who will take his first match at a major tournament. He is the second youngest coach at the tournament after Julian Nagelsmann; in fact, he is almost young enough to be Brighton’s manager.
Team news
Yannick Carrasco starts as left back for Belgium to Maxime De Kuyper, who was apparently cursed by his inclusion in our preamble. The attacking trio of Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard are likely to change during the match.
Slovakia stick with the same 11 that beat Wales 4-0 in their warm-up game.
Belgium (possible 4-2-3-1) Castells; Castagne, Faes, Debast, Carrasco; Mangala, Onana; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; Lukaku.
Subs: Kaminski, Sels, Theate, Vertonghen, Witsel, Tielemans, Lukebacchio, Vranks, De Ketelaere, Bakayoko, Openda, Vermeeren, De Kuyper.
Slovakia (possible 4-3-3) Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hanko; Bitch, Lobotka, Duda; Schrantz, Bojenik, Haraslin.
Reserves: Rodak, Ravas, Obert, Rigo, Gombert, Suslov, Tupta, Benes, Hrosovski, De Marco, Strelets, Duris, Bero, L Sauer, Kosa.
Referee Umut Meller (Turkey).
genius
(dʒiːniəs)
Word forms: plural geniuses
1. UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
Genius is very great ability or skill in a particular subject or activity.
The other game in this group is about to end. Romania leads 3-0 against Ukraine and continues.
Management of the Belgian team
There will be one notable absentee at Euro 2024 and that’s it Thibaut Courtois. The Real Madrid goalkeeper, unlike some of his compatriots, did not plan to announce his retirement after the World Cup, but did fall out with Tedesco. After a dispute with the coach over the captain’s armband, Courtois accused the national coach of an “abuse of trust”.
Slovakia team guide
The 26-year-old defender David Hanko is the team’s most interesting player to watch. He is among the best central defenders in the Eredivisie, where he helped Arne Slott’s Feyenoord win the league in 2023. Interestingly, for the national team, he is usually used as a left winger, where he is very influential when it comes to fortuitous creation. His versatility and ability in defense and attack has led to interest from Premier League clubs. There has been talk of a move to West Ham or Aston Villa in the past, but at the moment following Slott to Liverpool seems natural.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Belgium vs Slovakia live stream in Frankfurt. According to our good friendly Fifa rankings, Belgium is the second best team in the Euro 2024, behind France, but nobody really thinks they will go the distance. Perhaps, after all the false hopes of the peak years of the golden generation, this will be a blessing.
Many of the best players from that era are still knocking around, including the mighty Kevin De Bruyne; others, such as Eden Hazard, were last seen on Soccer Aid. There is some exciting new blood in Jeremy Doku, Maxime De Kuyper and Leandro Trossard, who is 29 and will go on to 21.
Even in transition, Belgium they will be expected to qualify comfortably from their group. Mind you, we said this in Qatar. The important thing is on the field!
Start 5:00 p.m.
[ad_2]
