Euro 2024: Group E Preview
He's one of the best and most accomplished midfielders in the world, but Kevin De Bruyne hasn't tasted much success in his lengthy Belgium career; could this be his "last dance" moment for the Red Devils?
Belgium
FIFA Rank: 3rd
Qualified as: Group F winner
The Skinny
If you've been an international football fan for a while, you probably know the story of Belgium over the last decade or so. The Red Devils, apart from a brief renaissance in the 1980s wherein they reached the semifinals of two European Championships and the knockout stages of two World Cups, had little to no footballing history before the dawn of a so-called "golden generation." Suddenly, Belgium were a seeded team entering the 2014 World Cup, with a roster that looked like a Premier League all-star team. They reached the quarterfinals of that Cup, losing narrowly to Lionel Messi and runners-up Argentina, which seemed like the start of something great. Instead, that was...about as good as it got. A trip to the quarterfinals in the 2016 and 2021 Euro Cups followed, sandwiched around their zenith, a 3rd place finish at the 2018 World Cup. But no hardware has graced their cabinets, and after the bottom fell out in 2022, when they were sent home from the World Cup after the group stages, many proclaimed that the Belgians had missed their moment. Long preamble aside, though, as you'll see below, this is a talented squad with several key stars from the golden generation still plying their trade. As heavy favorites in the group and on the tail of an undefeated qualifying campaign, is this the moment at long last for Belgium?
The Best XI
Even now, with so much of that famous generation come and gone, when you look at this XI, it's hard not to see Belgium as a real threat in this competition. Romelu Lukaku, now of Roma, has been a journeyman in his club career of late, but has always been reliable for Belgium. Flanking him in attack are two wingers whose signing in 2023 helped set the Premier League title race ablaze in Jeremy Doku (Manchester City) and Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), and Charles De Ketalaere, a key attacking midfielder from the Europa League-winning Atalanta. In case that wasn't enough in the midfield for you, move a little further back and you'll see Youri Tielemans, a starter for the Champions League-bound Aston Villa, and...oh yes, the best midfielder in the world, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne. You'd be tempted to say that by itself could beat most teams in the world, but if there is an area of concern for the Red Devils, it's at the back; the elite Thibaut Courtois' exclusion from the squad due to injury leaves a gaping absence between the sticks. My best guess for who will fill it is Nottingham's Matz Sels, who took over late in the season for the Premier League club and helped them secure safety from relegation. Manager Domenico Tedesco will hope the battle-testing of the Premier League for him and Fulham defender Timothy Castagne will combine with the lengthy experience of veteran defenders Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, and Thomas Meunier to provide a formidable defense.
Slovakia
FIFA Rank: 48th
Qualified as: Group J runner-up
The Skinny
Like many of the nations profiled in this tournament, Slovakia's footballing legacy is wildly different depending on whether you consider strictly their era as an independent nation. As part of Czechoslovakia for nearly 50 years, they reached 2 World Cup Finals and 3 Euro semifinals, reaching the Final and winning in 1976. As an independent nation since 1993, Slovakia have qualified for just one World Cup and now three European Championships. The good news? For one, all 4 of those appearances have been in the last 15 years, signifying a recent upward trajectory relative to their history. But perhaps more relevantly, they've overachieved in each of their tournament appearances; their World Cup debut saw them stun reigning champions Italy and reach the Round of 16, where they were narrowly dispatched by eventual runners-up Netherlands. And in both the 2016 and the 2021 editions of this tournament, they managed to win a group match despite being the lowest-ranked team in the group, and in the case of the former, that was enough to book them a spot in the last 16. Their squad lacks some of the sneaky good stars (Marek Hamšík, Martin Škrtel, Vladimír Weiss come to mind) they once had, but Sokoli have a proven manager who pulls double duty as the head man at Napoli, and a solid qualifying campaign that saw them lose only to Portugal breathes confidence in this team to surprise people once again.
The Best XI
I implied above this Slovakia squad doesn't have too many names on this teamsheet that will cause eyeballs to pop, but what Sokoli (the Falcons) lack there, they more than make up for in experience. Hellas Verona's Ondrej Duda, Napoli's Stanislav Lobotka, Paris Saint-Germain's Milan Škriniar, Hertha's Peter Pekarík and Newcastle's Martin Dúbravka have all been Slovak stalwarts for some time. Young talent abounds in this squad too, from Duda's club teammate Tomáš Suslov, to fellow forwards Róbert Boženík (Boavista) and Lukáš Haraslin (Sparta Praha), to Feyenoord defender Dávid Hancko. This rare combination of incredible experience and youthful energy may prove to be a winning combo.
Romania
FIFA Rank: 46th
Qualified as: Group I winner
The Skinny
If you're my age or younger, you'd never believe it, but Romania were one of the premier forces in football back in the late 1980s and 1990s. During this time, their national team reached the knockout stages of 3 consecutive World Cups, Steaua București won the Champions League, and midfielder Gheorghe Hagi was widely considered one of the best players in the world. Since that brief golden age, though, it's been a long period of no World Cup appearances in the 21st century, and only group stage exits from the 2008 and 2016 Euro Cups to write home about. That 2016 tournament especially stuck in the craw for fans of the Tricolorii, given their 0 win-3 loss record amidst a group they were expected to progress from. Those players who are back 8 years later will be eager to avenge that poor outing, and having completed a qualifying campaign unbeaten, may just have the will to do it in a highly competitive group.
The Best XI
Much of the Romanian squad plays their club football in Italy or Turkey, but arguably their best two players are the exception. Goalkeeper Horațiu Moldovan deputizes Jan Oblak at Atlético Madrid, and exciting winger Ianis Hagi (yes, son of Gheorghe) just wrapped a successful season loan with a different La Liga side, Alavés. Another exception is longtime star and current captain Nicolae Stanciu, who was one of the players that made the bizatre decision to defect to the Saudi league despite still very much having good years in him. Of those Italian and Turkish-based players, one (Bari's George Pușcaș) is likely to lead in attack, others (Empoli's Ražvan Marin and Konyaspor's Alexandru Cicâldǎu) likely to anchor a midfield, and one (Palermo's Ionuț Nedelcearu) will be the veteran presence in a back line that could also include young Tottenham prospect Radu Drǎgușin.
Ukraine
FIFA Rank: 22nd
Qualified as: Group C 3rd Place; defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland in playoff
The Skinny
Unlike many of their "former Soviet Union member" peers, Ukraine actually has carved out a solid resumé as an independent nation. In their nearly 30 years of sovereignty, they have only reached the World Cup once, in 2006, but made the most of it, embarking on a Cinderella run to the quarterfinals. They repeated that feat in 2021, one of 4 Euro cup appearances as an independent Ukraine. Obviously, mere months after being a source of national pride, life changed drastically for those Ukrainian players and fans as Russia began their invasion. Needless to say, everything the players have accomplished individually and particularly as a unit these last few years has been wildly impressive. This was epitomized by a gritty qualifying campaign, where they missed out on automatic qualification only due to goal difference vs. Italy, but then rallied to beat Bosnia and Wales on the road and secure their berth. If the Blue and Yellow can replicate that team unity, they will be a force reckoned with at these Euros, especially with a roster dotted with players playing at the highest level in Europe.
The Best XI
The stars for Ukraine in this tournament are likely to be found in La Liga talent at the two poles of the pitch. Valencia's Roman Yaremchuk has long been a reliable source of goals for Ukraine, and was their highest goalscorer in qualifying, but it's fellow striker Artem Dovbyk-- who scored a thrilling winner in extra-time in the Round of 16 three years ago -- who is coming off winning the league's Golden Boot with Girona, and hearing offers from many top clubs across Europe. In goal, Andriy Lunin may have missed out on playing in the Champions League Final, but his stellar performance spelling the injured Courtois helped Real Madrid secure yet another La Liga/Champions League double, and cemented himself as their keeper once the big Belgian hangs it up. Top talent pops up elsewhere on this teamsheet; like Scotland, The Blue and Yellow have two left-backs by trade that start in the Premier League, so I suspect they may give the nod at that position to Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko and move the more versatile Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal) into the defensive midfield. There, the 4-time Premier League champion can support an impressive attacking midfield, including young Chelsea dynamo Mykhailo Mudryk, Dovbyk's Girona teammate Viktor Tsyshaknov, and Ruslan Malinovskyi of Genoa.
Group Prediction
If yesterday's Group D was the "Group of Death," Group E can only be described as the "Group of Life." I mean, let's just call it how it is: this group offers a lifeline to any of its 4 teams, a heavy favorite that has consistently underachieved relative to its lofty ranking and three plucky teams that have hardly caused a commotion on the world football stage. The good news is, the "free-for-all" should be fun to watch! I'm not sure I'm ready to be baited into Belgium being a title contender yet again, but I certainly don't foresee any scenario where they don't win this group (and likely win all matches). I just don't see much daylight between the Slovakia and Romania squads, and think they probably split honors, and while Ukraine probably doesn't have the horses to upset Belgium, per se, I do think they have enough to beat one if not both of their other groupmates.
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