Belgium in the round of 16, Ukraine eliminated

In the tight Pool E, in which all teams had three points each before the last round, Belgium only needed a meager 0:0 draw against Ukraine to advance. Ukraine ended up on the same number of points as its opponents but could not move up from fourth place. Belgium had to give way to Romania, who secured first place with a 1:1 draw against Slovakia, who had also been promoted.

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The Belgians, who were booed by their fans as they left the field after a poor performance, will face World Cup runners-up France in the first knockout round next Monday. The goals scored (2) were the deciding factor against Romania (4).

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In Stuttgart, the fans were treated to a cautious opening phase with a slight advantage for the Belgians, given the tight situation. They also had the first shot on goal through Romelu Lukaku, but the striker was stopped from a tight angle by goalie Anatolij Trubin (7′). As the game went on, Ukraine worked their way into the game better, with Roman Yaremchuk testing goalkeeper Koen Casteels with a long-range shot (20′).

Belgium was rather passive and careless in defence, allowing good Ukrainian combinations time and again. This resulted in a dangerous but weak shot by Sukakow on Casteels (35th minute), and shortly before half-time Artem Dowbyk narrowly missed a threatening cross from Yaremchuk (42nd minute).

Belgium’s build-up play was too slow and flawed, and they didn’t have a single real chance until half-time. Only “sly fox” De Bruyne, otherwise well controlled by the Ukrainians, shook the side netting with a direct free kick around the wall (34th minute), and a little later he fired a harmless long-range shot at Trubin (45th minute).

Given the 1:1 halftime score in the parallel match between Slovakia and Romania, Ukraine was forced to act even more, but the Red Devils were more active after the restart. While the Eastern Europeans hardly had any more control, the favorites repeatedly launched quick attacks. Initially, they had problems with the final pass, but eventually they got closer. Substitute Yannick Carrasco was on the scoreboard twice, and his weak shot was no problem for Trubin (67′). Minutes later, the goalkeeper had more trouble.

But Ukraine came back again. They finally broke up the defensive five-man chain and increased their efforts with the courage of desperation. Dobyk twice (75th, 80th) and substitute Andriy Yarmolenko (83rd) put the defence and Casteels in trouble with their shots. In injury time, Heorhiy Sudakov lost his nerve at the best chance. He shot too centrally at Casteels.