Belgium got the best out of a 0-0 draw at the European Championship on Wednesday, advancing to the last 16 while Ukraine became the first team with four points in a group to be eliminated.
The downside for the Belgians is they will next face France and Kylian Mbappe at Euro 2024 on Monday in Duesseldorf.
All four teams in Group E finished with four points. Romania ended up first, followed by Belgium and Slovakia. Ukraine was last on goal difference.
Romania and Slovakia drew 1-1 in Frankfurt and both advanced to the knockout stage.
The third-ranked Belgians nearly had a different ending when Ukraine substitute Ruslan Malinovskyi tried to score directly from corner late in the match. Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels managed to save the effort at the near post.
The Belgian fans booed the team at the end of the game at Stuttgart Arena, while Ukrainian supporters showed their appreciation to the national team.
Ukraine had another good chance to score late in the match when Georgiy Sudakov got through the Belgian defence but shot right at Casteels.
Belgium, which lost to Slovakia in its opening game, struggled to get its offence going again with Romelu Lukaku failing to make the most of his team’s best chance in the first half.
Romania 1, Slovakia 1
Romania and Slovakia got the 1-1 draw that sent both teams into the Round of 16 at the European Championship on Wednesday, with the Romanians topping Group E ahead of Belgium.
During a thunderstorm and pounding rain midway through the second half, both teams chased a winning goal in a frenetic spell of play despite the tied score suiting them both.
Romania advanced atop the group with Slovakia in third because second-place Belgium drew 0-0 with last-place Ukraine, which is eliminated. Belgium will play France in the round of 16.
Slovakia led in the 24th minute when Ondrej Duda directed a powerful header down into the corner of the net.
R─âzvan Marin leveled in the 37th from a penalty awarded after a two-minute video review to decide if Ianis Hagi was tripped inside the area.
Romania will now play in the knockout round for the first time since Euro 2000 when Hagi’s father, national soccer icon Gheorghe, was captain in the No. 10 jersey now worn by his son.
When the soccer anthem “Freed From Desire” played after the final whistle, both sets of fans were singing and jumping in celebration with the players. Romanian fans far outnumbered the Slovaks with yellow-shirted supporters in about two thirds of the Waldstadion area.
Romania’s reward is going into what shapes as the weaker half of the knockout bracket, separated until the final from in-form Spain and Portugal plus France and Germany.
Next for Romania is playing a third-place team in Munich with a five full days rest before that game on Tuesday.
Belgium plays France in a standout pairing on Monday in Duesseldorf. Slovakia could face Spain on Sunday in Cologne.
Allocating the four third-place teams in the round of 16 bracket will be confirmed after Group F games finish later Wednesday.
Pre-game speculation across Europe had been that Romania and Slovakia could contrive a draw to ensure both advanced.
That idea was banished by the energy of both team’s early attacks in 27 Celsius (81 Fahrenheit) heat before the storm rolled in, then their commitment through the sweeping rain.
The Slovaks took a first-half lead for the third straight game and the 24th minute was the longest their fans had to wait.
From a high cross, Duda put power into his header back across goal beyond the dive of goalkeeper Florin Niță.
Hagi had wasted Romania’s clearest shooting chance before his direct running led to the penalty.
Source Agencies
