Ukraine put up a tough fight against Belgium and should have won right at the end in their final game of the Euro 2024 group stages! However, they will rue their missed chances as the game ended 0-0
With all four teams in Group E starting on three points at the beginning of this game, both games, this one and Slovakia vs Romania ended in a draw, meaning all teams ended up on four points at the closure of the group stages. Romania and Belgium claimed the top two spots!
Ukraine vs Belgium Highlights
1′ – KICK OFF as Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku both made their 25th appearance in major tournaments for Belgium, which is the joint most among outfield players of their country
3′ – Ukraine started strong as they look more threatening in Belgium’s final third in the opening minutes of the game
7′ – BIG CHANCE! Kevin De Bruyne found himself in space and drove into Ukraine’s penalty area. His through ball into the box found Lukaku who only had the goalkeeper to beat, but the striker scuffed his effort straight at the Ukrainian keeper
20′ – SAVE! Yeremchuk takes a powerful shot from outside the box, but Belgium’s goalkeeper Casteels gets his body behind the ball and makes the save
22′ – Belgium were growing into the game at this point. De Bruyne passed the ball out wide to Castagne, and he got to the byline before delivering into the box. Lukaku was lurking at the back post and was unmarked, but Zabarnyi just beat him to it and cleared the ball
34′ – CHANCE! Ukraine move forward with the ball thanks to Mykolenko, who crossed on the volley into the penalty area. Sudakov was there to meet the ball and laid in a strike with his left foot, but he fired it straight at the goalkeeper
36′ – Doku was causing Ukraine all sorts of problems from the left side. He beat his man and got to the byline before swinging in a cross, but it’s straight at the goalkeeper. Goal-kick.
42′ – WHAT A CHANCE! Ukraine’s Shaparenko flicked the ball behind Belgium’s defence. Yaremchuk receives the ball and has a clear shot on goal, but he chose to pass it to Dovbyk at the back post, leading to a missed opportunity.
43′ – Yellow Card! Wout Faes (Belgium)
45′ + 2′ – HALF TIME
46′ – Yeremchuk got the second half underway for Ukraine
50′ – Ukraine got a throw in deep inside Belgium’s half and the ball was launched deep into the box by Tymchyk. Yeremchuk won the flick, but the ball drops into Belgium’s possession
52′ – Kevin De Bruyne took a corner and crossed the ball straight at Youri Tielemans. The Aston Villa man chested the ball down before drilling a shot wide of Ukraine’s goal
58′ – Mykolenko couldn’t continue in the game due to injury, replaced by Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko
61′ – Youri Tielemans is substituted with Orel Mangala coming on
61′ – Leandro Trossard is substituted with Yannick Carrasco coming on
64′ – De Bruyne found Lukaku on the right of Ukraine’s goal. The Manchester City man moved to the left and tried to put in a pass in the centre, but it’s straight at the goalkeeper
69′ – Yellow Card! Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine)
70′ – Shaparenko, Yaremchuk and Brazhko are substituted for Vanat, Malinovskyi and Stepanenko
73′ – WHAT A SAVE! Yannick Carrasco struck a venomous shot at Ukraine’s goal, and Trubin pulls off an incredible save!
74′ – Ukraine almost scores on the counter as a long throw-in comes into the Belgium penalty area. Dovbyk controlled the ball and fired towards goal from just a few yards out, but Faes made a superb block!
77′ – Jeremy Doku is substituted with Johan Bakayoko coming on
79′ – CLOSE! Ukraine gets close to scoring. Dovbyk found himself with the ball inside Belgium’s penalty area and he was given enough time to turn. He fended off Vertonghen and struck at goal, but found the side netting
81′ – Oleksandr Svatok is substituted with Andriy Yarmolenko coming on
83′ – Ukraine got a corner which is whipped in by Malinovskyi towards the near post and Casteels was forced to save the ball off the line! It was inches away from being a goal for Ukraine!
87′ – Carrasco drove through the centre of the pitch and found De Bruyne. The Manchester City man laid the ball to Bakayoko, who tried to curl the ball on the far post, but missed the target
89′ – Romelu Lukaku is substituted with Lois Openda coming on
90′ – Four minutes added time!
90′ + 2′ – WHAT A CHANCE FOR UKRAINE TO WIN IT! How has Sudakov not scored there? He received the ball outside of the box and drove into the Belgium penalty area. He avoided multiple tackles before striking the ball toward the goal, but his attempt was straight at Casteels!
90′ + 4′ – FULL TIME! Despite finishing on four points, Ukraine have been knocked out of Euro 2024
Key Moment
The 92nd-minute miss by Sudakov was definitely the key moment in this game as his miss could have handed all three points to Ukraine and they would have topped their group!
Player of the Match
Anatolli Trubin put up an incredible fight against Belgium. The 22-year-old goalkeeper made six crucial saves in order to keep Ukraine in the game right until the final whistle!
Conclusion
Belgium created just 0.91 expected goals throughout this game. Unfortunately for Ukraine, who produced just 0.73 expected goals, they will head home after finishing in fourth.
Also Read: Slovakia vs Romania Player Ratings as both teams advance to the knockouts