Ukraine are one victory away from securing their place in the knockout stages of EURO 2024. After a comeback victory against Slovakia on Matchday 2, the Ukrainians will hope to build on their most recent performance in their third and final match of the group stage.
Based on other results in the group, a draw may not be enough to see Ukraine qualify for the knockouts. While all four teams in the group are level on points, Ukraine are ranked lowest on goal difference, making it important to beat the Belgians to secure their place in the Round of 16.
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It will be far from easy. Ukraine know that Belgium will also be pushing for a victory to extend their appearance at this year’s competition. Expect therefore a fiercely contested match with Belgium looking to make things difficult for the Ukrainian side.
Fortunately, Ukraine should have a fully fit team and manager Serhiy Rebrov will look to field his strongest lineup against the Belgians.
Prior to the start of the competition, many pundits, football experts, and fans expected Belgium to win the group with ease.
What transpired, however, was quite different. Belgium were left shocked on Matchday 1 when they lost to Slovakia. They then responded on Matchday 2 by defeating Romania. The result means that Group E remains open as all four teams sit on three points each.
The failure of Ukraine or Belgium to secure a result on June 26 may therefore lead to an early exit from EURO 2024.
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Team news and key stats
- This is Ukraine’s first-ever match against Belgium.
- Vitaliy Mykolenko and Viktor Tsygankov, who both had injuries and were on the bench in Ukraine’s match against Slovakia, should be available.
- Domenico Tedesco will be leading the Belgian national team at his first major European competition.
- Belgium have a fully fit squad for this game, while Dodi Lukebakio is suspended for this match.
- Belgium have previously featured in six other European Championships. Their best finish was in 1980, as runners-up.
Ukraine’s Predicted Starting XI Against Belgium:
- Trubin
- Tymchyk
- Zabarnyi
- Matviyenko
- Mykolenko
- Shaparenko
- Brazhko
- Tsygankov
- Sudakov
- Mudryk
- Yaremchuk
Belgium’s Predicted Starting XI Against Ukraine:
- Casteels
- Faes
- Vertonghen
- Debast
- Castagne
- Tielmans
- Onana
- Doku
- De Bruyne
- Trossard
- Lukaku
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He can be found on X @MTemnycky
The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.
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