Comments on Belgium - Slovakia in Group E EURO 2024

Admittedly, Belgium are not considered one of the favourites to win EURO 2024, but they are certainly a tough opponent.

The Red Devils failed to make it out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup, finishing third in their group behind Morocco and Croatia, and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of EURO 2020. Belgium's best performance at the European Championship was in 1980, when they finished runners-up, losing 2-1 to West Germany in the final.

However, Domenico Tedesco and his team are still highly rated in Group E. They have a fairly high-quality squad, but the golden generation is now past their prime. Fans are still waiting for the performance of the Belgian team in this tournament.

On the other side, Slovakia will be aiming for second place in Group E. They have not featured in the World Cup finals since 2010, when they reached the round of 16, but they played at EURO 2020 and were eliminated in the group stage.

Reaching the round of 16 at EURO 2016 was their best achievement in the tournament. Francesco Calzona's side have lost just one of their last seven games in all competitions and are in decent form. However, the difference in strength between the two sides is not small.

According to Opta, Belgium have a 61.5% chance of beating Slovakia in their opening match. Meanwhile, their opponents have just an 18.9% chance of winning, while the chance of a draw is 19.6%. Belgium have not drawn any of their last 17 matches at the EURO finals (W9 L8), a run that began in the 1980 final against West Germany.

Form

Belgium are unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions. Meanwhile, Slovakia have lost just one of their last six, a 2-0 friendly loss to Austria.

Confrontation

Slovakia have only lost to Belgium in one of their last three meetings, drawing two. Belgium's win came in a friendly in 2013. The two teams have never met in a competitive match.

Expected lineup

Belgium: Casteels; Faes, Witsel, De Cuyper; Castagne, Mangala, Onana, Doku; Trossard, De Bruyne; Lukaku

Slovakia: Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin

Prediction: Belgium 2-1 Slovakia

The Belgium - Slovakia match will take place at 8:00 p.m. on June 17 (Vietnam time), live on TV360, VTV.

Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/nhan-dinh-tuyen-bi-slovakia-tai-bang-e-euro-2024-1353868.ldo