The 17th edition of the European Championship started with a bang as the host, Germany, thrashed Scotland 5-1 in the opening match, at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The Euro 2024 is living up to its promise of high-quality football. Following are the matches that are scheduled to be played on June 21:
- Slovakia vs Ukraine – 6:30 PM IST; 3:00 PM local time (CET), 2:00 pm BST
- Poland vs Austria- 9:30 PM IST; 6:00 PM local time (CET); 5:00 pm BST
- Netherlands vs France- June 22, 12:30 AM IST; 9:00 PM local time (CET); 8:00 PM BST
SLOVAKIA VS UKRAINE
Slovakia pulled off the biggest statistical shock in European Championship history when it stunned Belgium in its opening match at Euro 2024 but knows there is still work to be done if it wants to capitalise on its sensational start.
Ivan Schranz’s early goal earned Slovakia – 48th in the world rankings – a 1-0 victory over the third-ranked team, the biggest rankings gap ever overcome by an underdog, according to Opta.
It also blew Group E wide open ahead of its clash with Ukraine on Friday in Duesseldorf.
Ukraine, meanwhile, was taken apart in a 3-0 defeat by Romania and will be desperate to make amends.
A fifth successive victory in competitive matches for Francesco Calzona’s Slovakia on Friday would guarantee it a place in the last 16 — equalling its run of 2016.
But midfielder Tomas Suslov, whose father is Ukrainian, warned that it must not get too far ahead of itself.
READ FULL PREVIEW | Slovakia aims to back up Belgium shock, Ukraine seeks redemption
POLAND VS AUSTRIA
Poland hopes record scorer Robert Lewandowski will be fit for its Euro 2024 Group D clash with Austria on Friday after slumping to a 2-1 defeat by the Netherlands in its opening game.
Lewandowski picked up a thigh injury in a warm-up friendly against Turkey, and though he was named on the bench against the Dutch, coach Michal Probierz decided not to risk him.
“He (Lewandowski) will hopefully play against Austria, he’s a very important player for us,” Probierz told reporters in the wake of the defeat to the Dutch.
“We have shown (against Netherlands) that we can play football very well, we had our chances, and I told the players to keep their chins up, we can play against anyone … all the players believe that we are moving in the right direction.”
READ FULL PREVIEW | Poland needs Lewandowski in crunch Group D clash with Austria
NETHERLANDS VS FRANCE
France may need to plan for the absence of Kylian Mbappe in the game against the Netherlands on Friday which will likely decide who will top Group D, after its captain suffered a broken nose in the opener, while the Dutch are up against recent history.
Mbappe went off injured in Monday’s 1-0 win over Austria and will need a protective mask when he does return to action. If he sits out Friday’s game, the Netherlands will be relieved not to have to face the French forward again.
In the Euro qualifying phase, the two nations were also drawn in the same group, with the French coming out on top in both meetings, in which Mbappe scored four goals.
The Dutch are, in fact, his favourite opponent, having netted five times in six games against them, and the first of his 47 international goals also came against the Netherlands back in 2017.
“Obviously, the French team with or without him, this is not the same thing. I hope he can be there,” Deschamps said after the Austria game.
READ FULL PREVIEW | France aims to continue recent superiority over Dutch, with or without Mbappe
(With inputs from Reuters)
