- What: 1st round of EURO 2024, Group E, Belgium vs Slovakia
- Where: Germany, Frankfurt
- When: June 17, 19:00 (local time - 18:00)
- Stadium: Deutsche Bank Park (51,500 seats)
Belgium is among the top contenders for the trophy, though not in the very first row. To confirm their serious aspirations, they need to win the first match, preferably convincingly. Slovakia will surely disagree with this, as they haven't suffered a major defeat since the last EURO in 2021.
Belgium
Belgium advanced to EURO in brilliant fashion, finishing first in a fairly challenging qualifying group. Their opponents included Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, and Estonia. The result of 8 matches: no defeats, 2 draws with Sweden and Austria, and 6 wins. Overall goal difference - 22 scored against 4 conceded. Impressive!
Since spring, they have played 4 friendlies against opponents of varying levels: 2 draws - with Ireland (0:0) and England (2:2), and 2 wins for morale - over Montenegro (2:0) and Luxembourg (3:0).
Throughout the cycle leading up to EURO, the team did not lose a single match out of 14, drawing only 4 and winning 10. Notably, half of these games were against strong opponents. They won 5 out of 14 matches by a margin of 3 goals or more.
Slovakia
Slovakia confidently advanced to EURO, finishing second in their qualifying group, predictably and significantly behind Portugal but clearly ahead of Luxembourg. They collected almost all their "expected" points: 2 losses to Portugal (1:0 and 3:2), a draw with Luxembourg (1:1), and 7 wins. Their goal difference is notably modest: in 10 matches - 17 scored against 8 conceded. 7 out of 10 games ended in a draw or with a margin of 1 goal.
Since spring, they have played 4 friendlies with mixed success: lost to Austria (2:0), drew with Norway (1:1), and convincingly beat San Marino (4:0) and Wales (4:0).
Prediction
Slovakia is a rational team: they know how to beat weaker opponents and perform decently against stronger ones. However, their skills are not enough to take points from top teams. Belgium is much closer to victory, which could very well be minimal.
Prediction xGscore: Belgium Win
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