The Belgian national football team ensured qualification into the knockout phases by drawing 0-0 against Ukraine in the final game of the Euro 2024 group E, with Slovakia and Romania also sharing the spoils (1-1).
The Red Devils finished the group in second place on goal difference, after all four teams finished the group on four points. Belgium will now face France in the last 16 in Düsseldorf on 1 July (18:00). Romania topped the group, with Slovakia third, both qualifying; Ukraine, in last place, are eliminated despite with four points, which has not been seen before.
The end of the match was also marred by tensions between Belgian supporters and the players seemingly very unsatisfied at the team's performance.
One video showed the players going towards the fans before being turned back by captain De Bruyne. Belgian manager Domenico Tedesco also snapped at the television cameras who were attempting to film the post-match huddle.
Speaking after the game, De Bruyne expressed his happiness about the team's qualification.
"I'm happy, we're through," said the Belgian captain, voted Man of the Match, when speaking to RTBF. "I'm happy with the way the team played. We deserved to win."
"I think we started very well, with high pressure," analysed De Bruyne. "After 25-30 minutes, we had a few moments where we didn't keep up. That was a problem. We changed a bit and it didn't work. In the second half, we changed, we put pressure on, we had moments, we created chances, we had shots, but we couldn't find the goal."
Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne and Belgium's Yannick Carrasco pictured after a soccer game with Ukraine at Euro 2024, 26 June 2024. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
The Manchester City star also added the prospect of conceding a goal which would have eliminated them made things more tense for the players. "You know it's difficult, one goal and you're out, it's playing on the edge. In the end, you just have to think about qualifying."
Yannick Carrasco, speaking after the game, said he did not understand some of the fans whistling the team and expressing dissatisfaction after the end of the game.
Disappointing game
The match had started on an engaging note after a lively exchange between Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, yet De Bruyne’s shot lacked the power to trouble the Ukrainian goalkeeper, Anatolii Trubin (7th minute).
Ukraine's Roman Yaremchuk (who plays in Belgium for Club Brugge) had an early shot which was saved by Koen Casteels (20th minute). A misunderstanding between Wout Faes and Leandro Trossard led to a Ukrainian counterattack, but Artem Dovbyk’s shot was off-target (21st minute).
Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
Not long after the half-hour mark, a clever attempt by De Bruyne saw his free-kick nearly surprise the Ukrainian goalkeeper, but the ball ended up off-target (33rd minute).
Another opportunity at the end of the half from the Belgian captain take a shot from outside the box, but was well-handled by Trubin at the end of the first half (45th minute+1).
Belgium's Jeremy Doku against Ukraine. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
The Red Devils, in the second half, tried again to breach the Ukrainian defence, but a beautiful cross from Jérémy Doku failed to find Lukaku (58th minute).
As the final 15 minutes approached, both sides had a couple of great chances. Belgium’s came from a give-and-go involving Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco who came on for Trossard, but Trubin saved Carrasco’s shot. On the Ukrainian side, Faes prevented Dovbyk from shooting (75th minute).
The most concrete opportunity for Ukraine fell ten minutes before the end on a direct corner from Ruslan Malinovskyi, ultimately rescued by Casteels (83rd minute).
Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
