Down Goes Belgium: Slovakia Notches Greatest Upset in Euro History; Albania Scores Fastest Goal in Euro History; Eriksen Makes Emotional Euro Return; Germany and Spain Dominate; England, France Meh; Mbappe Injured; Portugal Narrowly Escapes

The Golden Generation for Belgium no longer glitters. An aging roster which still includes stars like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku tripped out of the gate on Monday. The Red Devils, third in the FIFA rankings, were defeated 1-0 by 48th ranked Slovakia in the greatest upset in Euro history based on the difference in ranking. Ivan Schranz scored in the seventh minute for Slovakia’s goal. Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku turned the ball over in Belgium’s end. An ensuing Slovakian shot was then parried by Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels into the path of Schranz and the rest was literally history. Belgian Manager Domenico Tedesco will be left to rue whether goalkeeper Thibault Courtois would have done better. Courtois, who has had past run-ins with the manager, was controversially left off the squad just weeks after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. Martin Dubravka, with over 150 matches in goal for Newcastle United, backstopped a tenacious Slovakia defense in preserving the clean sheet. One-time Premier League goal scorer Romelu Lukaku, still a Chelsea property though having played in Italy the past two seasons, revived memories of his futile World Cup performance in 2022. Lukaku missed several first half opportunities for an equalizer and then had two second half goals ruled out on VAR review. Group E is now in chaos as the Belgian loss followed Romania’s 3-0 upset of Ukraine earlier on Monday. Romania was ranked 24 places below Ukraine in the FIFA rankings.

Host Country Germany opened Euro 24 with the biggest win on the weekend. The Germans demolished Scotland 5-1 in a serious statement of intent which reflected the most lopsided scoreline for an opening match of a European Championship. Five different players, including Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, scored for Germany. Scotland was already down 2-0 when Havertz made it three with a penalty kick in first half stoppage time after a red card saw the Scots go down to 10 men.

Perfect start to the tournament. Straight into the next one! #euro2024 @DFB_Team pic.twitter.com/s9ANcX4Xzn

— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29) June 14, 2024

France, another tournament favorite, received a scare in its 1-0 opening win over Austria when Kylian Mbappe was struck in the face by an Austrian shoulder late in Monday’s match. The Frenchman’s nose was shattered but fortunately for the French it appears Mbappe will avoid surgery which could have ended his tournament. A presumably masked Mbappe, however, remains a doubt for the final two group stage matches. France was far from dominant in its win against the disciplined Austrian side directed by former Manchester United Manager Ralf Rangnick. A 38th minute Mbappe cross was deflected into the net by Austrin defender, and Leeds United man, Max Wober.

England was also less than impressive in winning by the same 1-0 score over Serbia. An otherwise lackluster match featured an electric goal off the head of an airborne Jude Bellingham for England’s winner.

No team in England’s group scored more than a goal as Slovenia and Denmark played to a 1-1 draw. An inspiring moment was provided early in the Denmark match when Christian Eriksen scored in the 17th minute of his return to the tournament where he fell victim to cardiac arrest three years ago in COVID delayed Euro 20. The Manchester United midfielder now plays with an internal defibrillator. The feel-good story was partially spoiled when Slovenia equalized in the 77th minute on Erik Janza’s deflected shot past former Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Spain scored all three of its goals in the first half of play in an impressive 3-0 win over Croatia in the tournament’s Group of Death. Assisting on Spain’s third goal of the first half was Lamine Yamal who became the youngest player to appear in a European Championship. Spain now moves on to face defending champion Italy in its second group match.

The Italians faced the earliest deficit in Euro history on Saturday when Albania’s Nedim Bajrami found the net in the first 23 seconds. Undaunted, the Italians rebounded to take a 2-1 lead by the 16th minute. That score held as the Albanians never had another shot on target.

Portugal narrowly avoided becoming the first tournament favorite to fall in the first round of group play. Czechia was defeating the star-studded Portugal team in the 62nd minute on Tuesday with Lukas Provod having scored with Czechia’s only shot on target. A reversal, however, was imminent for the Czechs. An own goal by Czechia tied the game in the 69th minute. After a possible Portuguese winner in regulation was ruled offside, a resurgent Portugal found the net again in stoppage time to take all three points with their 2-1 come from behind victory. Twenty-one year-old Francisco Conceicao, a late substitute, scored his first international goal for the winner in a match where Portugal’s’ 41 year-old Pepe became the oldest player to participate in the Euros and 39 year-old Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in a record sixth consecutive European Championship.