Group E has been written off by plenty as one of the more predictable and less exciting quartets at EURO2024 – but don’t be so quick to overlook these games. Domenico Tedesco’s Belgium are the clear favourites to top the group, sitting third in FIFA’s rankings – nineteen places ahead of closest contenders Ukraine. However, Romania in particular have been in fine form in qualifying and anything can happen in tournament football…
The Red Devils might be likely to claim the top spot, but the second qualifying place is well up for grabs – so let’s take a look at the competitors.
Belgium
Embed from Getty ImagesFavourites first: Belgium, managed by Domenico Tedesco, enter the group with the highest FIFA ranking by far, a recent strong record at major tournaments, and some familiar star names. They finished third at the 2018 World Cup, and have reached the quarter-finals of the last two EUROs, eliminated narrowly by eventual champions Italy in the last edition. However, they have been unable to overcome the hurdle of the quarterfinals since 1980.
Tedesco’s side reached this year’s tournament after an unbeaten qualification run; they finished with six wins, two draws, and by far the best goal difference in the group. They continued that unbeaten form in their pre-tournament friendlies, where they’ve come up against favourites England and then the slightly tamer opposition of Luxembourg and Montenegro.
They go into the group as clear favourites, but with the added pressure that this will be their absolute last chance to utilise their ‘golden generation’. The likes of Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, and Thibaut Courtois are not included in this year’s squad (with the former two having retired).
Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, both now in their thirties, are the last of the big names carrying the flag on from the heights they’ve reached over the last decade – this is likely to be their last chance at major international glory. That’s not to say they’re lacking talent – the likes of Leandro Trossard and Arthur Theate will also feature, even if they don’t hold quite the same ‘golden generation’ stature – but they do need to find replacements, if that;’s even possible, for the big names that have made them such a force in recent times. Jérémy Doku will have a chance to establish himself as a new leading name in the squad this summer after a successful debut season at Manchester City.
Belgium are more than likely to progress from Group E, but they will meet much higher-calibre opposition in subsequent fixtures and need to quickly establish that they are still one of the world’s elite sides – even without the likes of Hazard. This summer also comes as a chance for them to answer the question of who could potentially replace Romelu Lukaku over the coming years as they enter a transitional era.
Slovakia
Embed from Getty ImagesRepre are preparing for their third consecutive EUROs campaign, but only progressed to the round of 16 in 2016 and couldn’t make it past the group stage in 2021 after a poor showing that included a 5-0 drubbing by Spain. This year they will need to put on a far better display as competitors Romania and Ukraine will see that runner-up slot in the group as well within reach.
Their manager Francesco Calzona has certainly had a busy run-up to the tournament, balancing his national team role with a job at Napoli in the closing stages of the season. He arrived at the Slovakian FA having never worked as a head coach before, but with plenty of experience as an assistant or colleague to the likes of Luciano Spalletti and Maurizio Sarri. His win rate of around half with the Slovakian national team so far doesn’t make for promising reading, but this side should not be counted out just yet.
They have plenty of top class players in their ranks who come from across the Eredivsie, Bundesliga, and Serie A to name a few. Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka will be one to watch, and well-known to Calzona thanks to their time together in Naples. Martin Dubravk of Newcastle will be the number one choice in goal – other than that there are not many familiar names to Premier League fans.
Slovakia’s qualifying performance shows why they’re not a team to be overlooked – they finished second in the group, beaten only by Portugal, but even then they showed their ability to spook sides when they almost came back in an intriguing 3-2 loss in Portugal. Calzona’s side are not likely to go deep into this tournament, but have the potential to turn up surprises.
Romania
Embed from Getty ImagesThis year’s EUROs marks Romania’s return to the world of major tournaments after they missed out on EURO2020 and the last two World Cups – they will certainly have a task on their hands to make up for that recent record. At their last appearance in 2016, they failed to make much of a splash as they were eliminated with just one point in the group stages. However, that belies how competitive those games were; their three matches saw two narrow losses to France and Albania and a draw with Switzerland, perhaps a better performance on paper than some would expect.
Edward Iordanescu’s side enter the tournament off the back of some mixed results. They had impressive qualifying run, winning a group that included Switzerland to automatically secure their place in Germany. Since then, though, their warmup games have shown far less promise – they are without a win in four games against Colombia, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria, and Northern Ireland and most of those were low scoring (two being 0-0 draws).
Those recent showings, combined with their less-than-impressive record at past EUROs (their best finish being a quarterfinal appearance more than two decades ago, and having not qualified for three of the last five tournaments) mean that their Group E opponents will see them as an opportunity to get some points.
Again though, this team are not a walkover – Valentin Mihăilă, Nicolae Stanciu, and Denis Alibec are among their sources of goals, but probably their strongest assets are further back. Radu Drăgușin and goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan were both important in qualifying – though Switzerland outscored them by 6, the Romanians’ defending meant they conceded only 5. That solid defensive record will be something they’ll need to preserve to give themselves any chance of escaping the group.
Ukraine
Embed from Getty ImagesFinally, Ukraine probably have the second-best EUROs pedigree in Group E; their first appearance was not until 2012 as a host nation, but they’ve stubbornly stuck around for every EUROs since. They had two uninspiring group-stage exits in their first two appearances, but went on a more impressive run in 2021. After just scraping past the group stage as one of the best third-placed teams, they surprised opponents Sweden with a last minute winner in the round of 16 before being eliminated by England in the quarter-finals.
This year they will take a strong squad to Germany, featuring Premier League players like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudryk; stalwart and captain Andriy Yarmolenko will also be a crucial piece of the puzzle, fortunately fit for the tournament after an injury kept him out of the March friendlies. Their main man to watch for opposition defenders will be Artem Dovbyk, whose dramatic late winner pulled them through to the quarterfinals in the last tournament. He signed for a record sum for Girona last summer and has soared to the top of the La Ligas goalscoring charts with 24. Bear in mind that surpasses some of the bigger names at the Euros – Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann, and yes, England’s own Jude Bellingham.
Ukraine’s pre-tournament form is difficult to judge; they did finish third in their qualifying group and had to go through the playoffs, but note that those who finished ahead of them were both of the previous finalists Italy and England. Even against those two their performances were respectable; they held the Three Lions to a draw back in 2023, and were only pipped by Italy to the automatic qualifying spots on goal difference. They showed grit and winning ability in both their playoff games, turning it around from losing positions in both situations to seal their spot at the EUROs. Since then, they’ve seen a 4-0 win over Moldova and a 3-1 loss to Poland – but also a 0-0 draw with Germany, showing their ability to compete with top sides.
With the quality in their squad and openness of the group, don’t count Ukraine out from progressing past the opening stages for a second tournament in a row.
Of course, you can follow every fixture from Group E – and the rest of the tournament – right here on FromTheSpot.