Ukraine rallied from the brink of crisis at Euro 2024 with an inspiring second-half comeback to beat Slovakia 2-1 with goals from Mykola Shaparenko and substitute Roman Yaremchuk to earn their first three points of the tournament. The result leaves three teams in an intriguing draw in Group E with three points each, with Belgium, who were expected to top the group after Monday’s defeat, holding up their position.
There were two games remaining in Group D on Friday. Austria beat Poland 3-1 in Berlin, while France and the Netherlands failed to live up to expectations in Leipzig, with a refereeing controversy being one of the few notable moments in a boring 0-0 draw.
Euro 2024 Friday scores
All times are Eastern Standard Time
Slovakia 1, Ukraine 2, Poland 1, Austria 3, Netherlands 0, France 0
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Netherlands 0, France 0: Simons goal denied by VAR
Antoine Griezmann’s superbly wasteful night went unpunished and the Netherlands were controversially denied a goal that could have sealed the win in Leipzig. Xavi Simons shot from the edge of the penalty area midway through the second half, but his goal was ruled out after the assistant referee, and then the video assistant referee, decided that Denzel Dumfries had been too close to goalkeeper Mike Maignan as the ball went into the net.
It was not the Netherlands’ first chance in a game in which they had little possession of the ball, but they were ready to push forward on the counter whenever the favourites France had the ball. Jeremie Frimpong had a chance in the first half, but his shot was well saved by Maignan and Kody Gakpo also threatened at the other end of the goal.
France might have had more clear-cut chances without the inexplicably inaccurate play of the usually brilliant Griezmann, who twice failed to take a solid shot when the ball came to him inside the box. N’Golo Kante was creative with a series of elegant passes into the box and looked back to his best after several injury-plagued seasons before his move to Saudi Arabia.
His brilliance was not matched by others, Adrien Rabiot mis-crossed towards Kingsley Coman late on, and any energy from Kylian Mbappe, who was benched after suffering a broken nose against Austria, was lost as Les Bleus were held to their first goalless draw of the tournament and Poland became the first team to be eliminated from Euro 2024.
Slovakia 1, Ukraine 2: Yaremchuk leads Ukraine to big win
Ukraine were on the brink of elimination within 45 minutes and showed just what they have shown so far at Euro 2024, overcoming an impressive start from Slovakia to move firmly within reach of the last 16.
On several occasions in Düsseldorf, such an outcome seemed unlikely. Slovakia began the match with the purpose and organisation that had seen them pull off a surprise 1-0 win over Belgium in their opening match. After more than 1,000 days without a goal for club and country, Ivan Schranz scored twice in a week and, at half-time, Slovakia might have been dreaming of a place in the last 16, rather than the four-way battle for the last 16 they might soon face. Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, guilty of his usual lapses of concentration, slipped gently at the back post and powered home Lukas Haraslin’s cross to head low and over goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin, who may have felt he could have done more to put his team level.
Ukraine made four changes from their season opener, including removing Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, and made great progress since their disappointing (but heavily punished) 3-0 defeat to Romania in their opening match, but they were too passive without the ball in the first half, allowing Slovakia to regain their opener form.
With 45 minutes remaining to revive their tournament hopes, Ukraine fought back. Mykhailo Mudrik led a deliberate break from the edge of the penalty area and Zinchenko played a good pass to Shaparenko to remind them of their attacking prowess. With the substitution of Serhiy Rebrov, Ukraine’s press became more deliberate and the team in yellow dominated the second half.
The looming encounter with Belgium, pre-tournament favourites to top their group, may have given Ukraine momentum, and in the 80th minute they got the reward that had eluded them for most of Euro 2024. Shaparenko’s ball was saved by a fine touch from Roman Yaremchuk, and his second goal was no worse, slipping the ball past Martin Dubravka to give Ukraine a precious three points.
Poland 1, Austria 3: A solid win for Rangnick
Former Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick’s Austria side recorded a big win in Berlin, beating Poland with three goals. Austria’s Gernot Trauner put them ahead in the ninth minute, but their advantage was short-lived as Kristof Piatek equalized in the same stadium where he played for Hertha Berlin. Despite Poland star Robert Lewandowski making his UEFA Euro 2024 debut in the second half, Austria scored two goals to finally secure their first victory in the tournament.
Christoph Baumgartner put Inter ahead thanks to some great play from striker Marko Arnautovic, who then scored the final goal of the game from the penalty spot to make it 3-1. Austria will face the Netherlands in the same stadium on Tuesday, while Poland will face France in the final game of the tournament.
Group D outlook
1
Netherlands
1
1
0
1
Four
2
France
1
1
0
1
Four
3
Austria
1
0
1
1
3
Four
Poland
0
0
2
-3
0
Group E Outlook
1
Romania
1
0
0
3
3
2
Ukraine
1
0
1
-2
3
3
Slovakia
1
0
1
0
3
Four
Belgium
0
0
1
-1
0
What happened on Thursday
For anyone who watched England and Denmark’s draw, it probably didn’t make much difference. They picked up enough points from a boring 1-1 draw to almost guarantee passage to the last 16 and remain top of Group B after a late Serbia equaliser earlier in the day denied Slovenia victory. The only game to endure a winner from the three matches was the final, a fantastic final game in Gelsenkirchen, when Spain beat Italy in a spectacular display, with Riccardo Calafiori scoring an own goal and the champions having to weather a ferocious Spanish storm.
Saturday’s match
All times are Eastern Standard Time
Georgia vs Czech Republic, 9am Turkey vs Portugal, 12pm (preview) Belgium vs Romania, 3pm (preview)
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