DAY THREE
Poland vs Netherlands (1-2)
In the first match of the third day of Euro 2024, the Netherlands came from behind to defeat Poland 2-1, earn all three points, and go top of Group D. Poland took the lead early in the first half as Adam Buksa’s header found the back of the net in the 16th minute. The forward jumped clear of Netherlands defender Dumfries to head the ball into the bottom left corner. Netherlands almost equalized four minutes later as Xavi Simons’ corner kick found its way to Virgil Van Dijk’s foot. The Liverpool defender then whipped the ball into the bottom right corner but the Polish goalkeeper Szczesny got down quick enough to parry the ball away.
Cody Gakpo
The Netherlands finally got their equalizer in the 29th minute when Cody Gakpo received a ball from Nathan Ake and shot towards goal. The shot took a deflection off Salamon and went down the middle past Szczesny. The match remained 1-1 till the end of the first half as both teams struggled to score another goal. The second half remained goalless until Wout Weghorst scored for the Dutch in the 83rd minute. Weghorst came in as a substitute for Depay in the 81st minute and two minutes later got onto a deflection which he put past the Polish goalkeeper.
Slovenia vs Denmark (1-1)
Slovenia managed to hold Denmark to a 1-1 draw in their opening game of Euro 2024 at the Stuttgart Arena. Denmark dominated for most of the game and took the lead early in the first half thanks to Cristian Eriksen’s close-range effort in the 17th minute. The Danes held on to the lead till the end of the first half but eventually succumbed to Slovenia in the 77th minute. Slovenia played a corner towards the back post but it was headed away. Fortunately, the ball fell to Janza who immediately struck into the net to level the scores.
Serbia vs England (0-1)
England scrapped a 1-0 win over Serbia thanks to Jude Bellingham’s early goal in the 13th minute. The Real Madrid man leaped over Milenkovic to head Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross past the Serbian goalkeeper. They managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead till the end of the game despite constant pressure from the opponents to claim all three points and go to the top of group C. Sudan Vlahovic forced England keeper Jordan Pickford to make a crucial save late in the second half to preserve their lead. If the English win against Denmark on Thursday, they’ll be through to the knockout rounds with one game to spare.
DAY FOUR
Romania vs Ukraine (3-0)
Romania stunned Ukraine with a 3-0 win in Munich on Monday. Ukraine was the favorite to win the match but despite dominating possession (72%), they couldn’t create enough chances and failed to score any goal. Romania on the other hand were highly efficient and more clinical with their chances despite a measly 28% possessions. Ukraine had all the stats but the one that mattered most.
Romania opened the scoring in the 29th minute as they capitalized on the mistake of Ukraine’s goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The goalkeeper’s clearance fell right to the feet of Man who quickly switched the ball to Romania’s captain Stanciu. Stanciu hit the ball first time into the roof of the net to put Romania ahead. Romania came close to adding a second goal in the 39th minute when Stanciu attempted to score from a corner after he sighted Lunin way off his line. Luckily for the Lunin, the ball hit the woodwork.
Romania doubled the lead in the 53rd minute after a quick break. Razvan Marin pounced on a loose ball and hit a low shot that found its way past Lunin into the back of the net. Four minutes later Romania scored their third and final goal of the night as Dragus turned in a cross from Man. The goal stood after a brief VAR assessment to give them a very comfortable lead over their rivals. The Romanians saw out the rest of the match with their 3-0 lead despite the efforts of the Ukrainians to score. Romania is currently at the top of Group E while Ukraine languishes at the bottom.
Belgium vs Slovakia (0-1)
Slovakia served Belgium a shocking defeat at Deutsch Bank Park on Monday. Slovakia took the lead very early in the first half and managed to hold on to it till the end of the match. Unfortunately, the goal was the result of an error from the Red Devils. Doku lost the ball in his own box and it fell to Schranz who tried to set up Bozenik. Bozenik took a one-time shot that was parried by Casteels but the ball unfortunately fell to Schranz again who hit it straight into the net.
It was just an unfortunate situation for Belgium’s striker Romelu Lukaku and the team as a whole. The big striker missed three chances and then had two goals ruled out for marginal errors in the second half. Belgium had to suffer the entire 90 minutes looking for an equalizer but could not find a way to get past the Slovakian defence.
Austria vs France (0-1)
Austria faced France in the last match on Monday at the Merkur Spiel Arena. France managed to win the game but it was a scrappy win far from the dominant performance we expected from the star-studded French team who were quite sloppy in front of goal. Kylian Mbappe missed two chances; one early in the first half and a one-on-one in the 55th minute. Mbappe had beaten Wober with pace and only had the goalkeeper Pentz to beat but he somehow bent the ball wide of the right-hand post.
Despite having an off day in front of goal and a broken nose, Mbappe was still instrumental in France’s win. Mbappe dribbled to the edge of the box in the first half before attempting a soft cross into the box in the 38th minute. Unfortunately, Max Wober headed the cross into his own net to give France the lead.
Ngolo Kante who was absolutely outstanding on the pitch had to make a crucial clearance late into the second half to protect the fragile lead. The humble Frenchman was later named Man of the Match at the end of the night. France held on to the fragile lead till the end of the match to claim all three points. Les Bleus are now second in Group D behind the Netherlands.