Euro 2024: Belgium Tower Above The Rest in Open Group E – News18

Among the first sides to secure their place at Euro 2024, Belgium are unquestionably the team to beat in Group E where all four countries will believe they can advance to the knockout phase.

The number one ranked team in the world between 2018 and 2022, Belgium flopped badly at the last World Cup and have since moved on from a number of players considered part of their golden generation.

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Eden Hazard is retired while Thibaut Courtois ruled himself out of contention after a knee injury sidelined him for most of the season at Real Madrid.

Roberto Martinez stepped down after the Qatar debacle and is now in charge of Portugal, with Domenico Tedesco inheriting a squad still full of talent but in need of rejuvenation.

Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku remain fundamental to Belgium’s success, with the Manchester City playmaker scoring on his 100th cap in a 2-0 win over Montenegro on Wednesday — his first appearance for his country since March 2023.

“Do I feel the pressure? It’s always been there. The country perhaps expects a lot from it’s experienced players. We’re there to fight and give our all,” said 32-year-old De Bruyne.

“I’ve had a lot of good moments with this national team. Some disappointments as well, but that happens.

“The hunger is still there. The day I’m no longer hungry I will stop coming. I still feel like I’m 20 years old.”

Ukraine return for a fourth successive appearance after defeating Iceland in the play-offs, delivering an emotional boost to a country ravaged by war since the Russian invasion of February 2022.

For security reasons, the team has been forced to train and play outside the country.

Their run to the quarter-finals at the last edition ended in a 4-0 thrashing by England, but it marked Ukraine’s best Euro performance and many of the same players will be in Germany.

Can Dovbyk repeat club form?

Artem Dovbyk is coming off a fantastic debut campaign with Girona in which he finished as the leading scorer in La Liga with 24 goals, propelling the club to a first Champions League appearance.

Viktor Tsygankov was also a regular in a side that pushed Real Madrid deep into the season before ultimately finishing third behind the European champions and Barcelona.

Goalkeeper is a position of strength with Andriy Lunin, who filled in for Courtois in Madrid, the likely first choice ahead of Benfica’s Anatoliy Trubin, the starter in the majority of the qualifiers.

Slovakia enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign to book a third consecutive trip to the finals, but they lack a genuine goal threat with Marek Hamsik now part of the coaching set-up under Francesco Calzona, who had been juggling the role with that of Napoli boss.

Milan Skriniar is the backbone of the defence; Ondrej Duda and Stanislav Lobotka occupy midfield along with Juraj Kucha, who along with fellow 37-year-old Peter Pekarik both took part in Slovakia’s first tournament as an independent country at the 2010 World Cup.

Romania are the only team in the section who missed out on Euro 2020.

Winless at major finals since reaching the last eight of Euro 2000, Romania eased through qualifying unbeaten ahead of Switzerland despite possessing few players in Europe’s main leagues.

The national team has fallen on hard times over the past two decades, hindered by the decline of the country’s leading clubs and a lack of investment.

Ianis Hagi, the son of Romania great Gheorghe, endured a challenging season on loan at Spanish top-flight side Alaves, but Dennis Man and Valentin Mihaila played integral parts as Parma secured promotion back to Italy’s Serie A.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)