13th Day of Euro 2024
The fearless Georgians defeated Portugal with a historic feat, and Turkey overcame ten brave Czechs in a gladiatorial battle.
Slovakia and Romania did not deviate from the script with the most expected draw of Euro 2024, while Belgium did not score against Ukraine, but that was enough for the Round of 16.
Slovakia and Romania “shook hands” in Frankfurt for the most expected Euro 2024 – 1:1 draw. The match brought each team a point and the desired qualification for the Round of 16, and much had been said before the game about the fact that a draw was the ideal scenario for them.
Although no truce and “hugs” existed on the field, this scenario was realized. Thus, the Romanians go to the Round of 16 against the Netherlands and the Slovaks against England.
The first half was quite dynamic, and Slovakia deservedly took the lead after clearly looking for attacks instead of playing it safe.
Ondrej Duda scored with a header in the 24th minute, marking his second goal in the European Championships. The first came eight years ago in France and was historic—Slovakia’s first-ever goal in a continental championship (in a 1:2 loss to Wales).
But his team’s dominance did not bring a more solid lead, and Romania started looking for an equalizer.
They found it under strange circumstances and after a decision that will remain controversial.
In the 37th minute, Ianis Hagi broke through on the right and fell in the penalty area. Referee Daniel Siebert from Germany awarded a free kick right on the edge, which seemed fair if there was a foul.
However, after a VAR review, the foul was judged to be on the line, which by rules means a penalty. Razvan Marin equalized from the spot.
From there on, the “reasonable play” factor came into play at the Frankfurt stadium, if we may call it that.
No one could convince the Romanians or the Slovaks that it was worth seeking victory and first place in the group at the risk of conceding a goal, losing, and, with it, being eliminated. Slovakia came closer to scoring after the break, but it can’t be said they pursued it with particular persistence.
A few dangerous shots and a couple of scrambles… The Romanians also used counterattack opportunities but mostly focused on staying solid and not giving the opponent chances.
Thus, the draw remained until the end of the match – 1:1.
In the other match of this group, Belgium did not score for the second time in three games but still advanced to the Round of 16 of Euro 2024.
A 0:0 draw against Ukraine was enough for the Belgians, the second-placed team in Group E, to advance to the knockouts. At the same time, disappointment and elimination from the tournament remained for the Ukrainians.
Ukraine tried to unsettle their opponents with early pressure deep in their half, but it did not disturb the “Red Devils” much, quite the opposite.
They even created the first chance of the match in the 6th minute when maestro Kevin De Bruyne slipped a perfect pass between three in yellow, but Romelu Lukaku couldn’t hit the ball well from a few meters out.
Gradually, Belgium began to play at their familiar rhythm, with almost all attacks necessarily passing through De Bruyne in the center or Jeremy Doku on the left wing. But defensively, the situation was different, with mistakes in defense allowing Ukraine to create more dangerous chances.
Casteels saved long-range shots from Roman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk after just over 20 minutes of football.
De Bruyne tried to surprise Trubin with a diagonal shot to the near post from a free kick about 30 meters out, but the ball went wide. Three minutes before the break, Ukraine missed their best chance so far – with two passes through the center, the ball reached Yaremchuk, who preferred to combine with Dovbyk instead of shooting from the six-yard box.
Thus, no goal was scored again.
The Belgians pressed their opponents with the restart of the game, but their creativity in attack could have been more impressive, as everything ultimately aimed at Romelu Lukaku. In the 57th minute, the striker failed to meet a parallel pass across the goal line from Doku, who was set up with another perfect pass from De Bruyne.
Ukrainian players retreated into their half and were well-organized, repelling all Belgian attempts to break through their defensive lines. The match’s pace dropped significantly, with Ukraine defending and Belgium trying to break through their well-ordered opponents.
But after all the quiet, we saw two great chances for a goal in just a minute – one for each team.
First, in the 73rd minute, substitute Yannick Ferreira Carrasco and Lukaku played a one-two, after which Trubin had to work hard to save a powerful shot from Carrasco. In response, Dovbyk broke free behind the opponent’s defense but lost too much time with feints and failed to shoot.
Seconds later, Dovbyk was involved again, as Wout Faes blocked his shot from just 5-6 meters – perhaps the best Ukrainian chance after the break.
Seven minutes before the end, substitute Ruslan Malinovskyi tried to score directly from a corner and was very close. He shot to the near post, and Casteels’ quick reaction prevented the goal. In the final stretch, the match became more attractive as both teams actively sought the goal but continued to miss good opportunities.
In added time, Ferreira Carrasco wanted a penalty, which was not awarded. Then Sudakov broke through the middle and shot, but not strongly enough. In the last seconds, the Belgians started to delay the game, keeping the ball in one of the corners, and managed to hold on to the goalless draw.
And so – 0:0.
After that and the 1:1 in the other match, all teams in Group E have four points. Romania won the group, Slovakia is in third place, the Belgians are second, and Ukraine remains fourth and is eliminated.
Georgia will long remember their first participation in the European Championship. They entered it as underdogs in the group but ultimately will play in the Round of 16. The team led by former French international Willy Sagnol earned a place in the knockouts by defeating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2:0.
Thus, the country’s first win at a major football forum propelled them to Round 16.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze scored today’s goals, while Portugal created many chances but failed to realize them. Another fantastic match was played by Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili, who again made incredible saves.
The three points sent the country to third place in the final standings, securing them a Round of 16 match against Spain. Portugal will play Slovenia in the first knockout round. The Georgians probably had yet to dream of a better start, leading in the second minute.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Napoli star, scored the first goal of the evening after receiving a pass from the previous match’s scorer, Georges Mikautadze. With his magical left foot, which earned him the nickname “Kvaradona” in Naples, he easily beat the Portuguese goalkeeper – 1:0.
The goal was scored after 1:34 minutes, placing it among the five fastest in the history of the European Championships.
The Portuguese gradually pushed the game into the opponent’s half, but breaking through 11 well-organized Georgians took work. Cristiano Ronaldo shot powerfully from a free kick directly in front of the goal in the 16th minute, but Mamardashvili was again unbeatable in this championship. The Iberian pressure intensified, with Conceicao missing a chance after almost half an hour of play.
The youngster shot after a poorly cleared corner, but the ball bounced right in front of the goal to hit the wrong side of the net.
Captain Cristiano fell in the penalty area seconds later, and his fury at the referee for not awarding a penalty logically brought him a yellow card. After exactly 30 minutes of play, Joao Felix fired a dangerous left-footed shot, but again, the ball went past the post.
Ten minutes before the break, CR7 showed his class by controlling the ball with his right foot, shifting it to his left, and shooting from about 5 meters, but a Georgian defender’s tackle thwarted him.
The Portuguese made ten shots in the first 45 minutes, with Mamardashvili saving all three on target. Two misses within seconds started the second half. First, Ronaldo shot from the six-yard box after a corner, but a Georgian defender extended his leg, leading to another corner. After its execution, the ball landed before Danilo, but he also missed the target.
When the Portuguese pressure seemed even more serious, a swift Georgian counter-attack followed, reaching Luka Lochoshvili, who Antonio Silva tripped in the penalty area. The referee initially overlooked the situation but received a signal to review it on VAR and awarded a penalty. In the 57th minute, Georges Mikautadze took responsibility for the shot, just as he did in the previous match.
And again, he didn’t miss – 2:0 for Georgia.
The Iberians once again surrounded the Georgian penalty area but without any success. Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez substituted Cristiano Ronaldo. The captain left the field in the 66th minute. Georgia came close to another goal five minutes before the end when Mikautadze left Danilo in place with a Ronaldo-like move but shot wide.
In added time, goalkeeper Mamardashvili made his usual saves, two of which prevented certain goals from entering his net. The final score was 2:0, sending Georgia to the Round of 16.
On the other hand, Turkey broke down the Czech Republic in added time with a 2-1 win in a crazy, dramatic, and tense match in Hamburg, after which the full puzzle of the Euro 2024 knockout stages became clear.
The Turks finished second in Group F with 6 points and await a round-of-16 match against Austria. The Czechs are eliminated, finishing last in the group with only 2 points. Also advancing from the group are Portugal (6 points) and Georgia (with 4).
The match started fiercely, with both teams channelling their aggression into attacks and challenges for every ball.
Some of these challenges crossed the line in the first few minutes, and Antonín Barák committed an unnecessarily rough foul in the 7th minute, earning a fully deserved yellow card.
His second yellow was far less clear-cut – in the 20th minute, Romanian referee István Kovács issued it too easily for a sharp, but by no means rough, challenge.
Thus, the Czechs were down to 10 men early, like a sentence in a charged match.
The referee made an own goal with the decision, likely considering it brave.
Because from then on, nerves, provocations, and sparks didn’t stop on the pitch. Twelve yellow cards to players on the field and four more to people on the benches prove that.
After the end, Czech player Hory was also sent off for attempting to confront an opponent.
The Turks took the initiative and completely controlled the ball minutes after the red card.
But in the 43rd minute, the team with a man down had a golden chance. But left-back Jurašek missed, left alone against goalkeeper Mert Günok.
And the half ended goalless.
The tension remained high in Hamburg, especially with the news that Georgia was leading 1-0 against Portugal.
But the start of the second half seemed to break the intrigue.
A fantastic goal by Hakan Çalhanoğlu in the 51st minute blew up the stadium, full of Turkish fans. The captain scored diagonally with a nice low shot, leaving goalkeeper Staněk no chance to react. Moreover, the Czech keeper got injured, making a save seconds before Çalhanoğlu’s shot, necessitating a substitution.
Turkey completely opened up, and three times, the ball was close to finding the opponent’s net, but the chances were missed.
And football, as it often does, decided to give us drama against the logic. The Czechs equalized in the 66th minute with a goal that had nothing to do with what was happening on the pitch. A long throw-in caused panic in the Turkish defense, the two-meter-tall Tomáš Hory lightly pressed Günok without a foul, and he made a mistake.
The ball went to Tomáš Souček, who scored.
Hory was brought on to “crush” the Turkish defense and goalkeeper physically. He has dimensions similar to Jan Koller, the legendary giant in the Czech attack from the beginning of the century.
Tension again settled in the Turkish legs—one goal would eliminate them from the tournament.
The Czechs were looking for set pieces, kicking the ball toward their two-meter forward, and did not give up. They exposed themselves to dangerous Turkish counterattacks that miraculously didn’t bring a new goal.
But what did the Czechs have to lose? One goal would qualify them. The character of this team cannot be questioned.
But it wasn’t enough… Cenk Tosun scored in added time and decided everything.
This gladiatorial battle, which ended with a scuffle on the pitch between the players, had the intensity of a knockout match.
Slovakia – Romania 1:1
O.Duda (24′) ; R.Marin (37′ Pen)
Ukraine – Belgium 0:0
Group Е Final Standings:
1. Romania 4 pts
2. Belgium 4 pts
3. Slovakia 4 pts
4. Ukraine 4 pts
Georgia – Portugal 2:0
K. Kvaratskhelia (2′), G. Mikautadze, (57′ Pen)
Czech Republic – Turkey 1:2
T.Soucek (66′); H.Calhanoglu (51′), C.Tosun (90+4′)
Group F Final Standings:
1. Portugal 6 pts
2. Turkey 6 pts
3. Georgia 4 pts
4. Czech Republic 1 pt
EURO 2024 Round of 16:
-Jun 29 Germany – Denmark
-Jun 29 Switzerland – Italy
-Jun 30 Spain – Georgia
-Jun 30 England – Slovakia
-Jul 1 Portugal – Slovenia
-Jul 1 France – Belgium
-Jul 2 Romania – Netherlands
-Jul 2 Austria – Turkey