Group E: Belgium Walkover Expected

What to expect from this group? Outside of Belgium dominating the group there is not too much else to say really. The Red Devils possess a far superior team to the opposition and it would be nothing short of an embarrassment if they didn’t progress to the knockout rounds. Outside of that, we have a decent-looking Ukraine side who required the playoffs to qualify for this tournament. Then we have Romania, the defensive masterminds, who can surprise a lot of people throughout these Euros as well as Slovakia, who may not have the strongest squad, but have had a positive warm-up and will come into this group with a lot of confidence.

Belgium:

The so-called “Golden Age” of the Belgium national team is coming to its end and people feel that the Red Devils have missed their chance for glory. However, I beg to differ. They will certainly miss Belgium's top scorer Romelu Lukaku (Roma) but with Lois Openda growing in ability as RB Leipzig, there is a lot to be positive about. The young striker enjoyed a superb first season in the Bundesliga scoring 24 goals in 34 games. He has been going from strength to strength in recent seasons and will certainly fill the void left by Lukaku in the future. Veteran Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht) will likely compete in his last international tournament for Belgium and will be greatly missed in the heart of defence. However, there is much to look forward to with 20-year-old centre-back Zeno Debast coming through the ranks

at Anderlecht. The young defender has partnered with Vertonghen in defence all season, learning from him and growing in ability under the veteran’s guidance. He is the future of defence for the national team, and his call-up to the squad for Euro 24 will do a world of good for the youngster’s confidence. Even on the wings, 22-year-old Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), 21-year-old Johan Bakayoko (PSV) and 23-year-old Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta) are enough to excite any football fans. A wide range of players who are not scared to run with the ball and add flair to the game can give Belgium fans a lot to be positive about for the future.

One player who can not be replicated however is Kevin De Bruyne. The playmaking magician is truly one of a kind and one of the greatest midfielders of all time. Although suffering an injury-plagued season, the midfield maestro still mustered 4 goals and 10 assists in 18 premier league appearances. Averaging 3.3 key passes per game equals the amount completed by Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and beats Martin Odegaard’s (Arsenal) 2.9. In addition, he also completed 1.9 crosses per game which trumps both Fernandes’s 1.5 and Odegaard’s 0.9. The Man City man has the 2nd most assists in Premier League history and will need to carry on his outstanding form should Belgium want to achieve glory this summer.

Ukraine:

The main way to describe the Yellow and Blue’s is “middle ground”. They are a squad with both talent and the unknown. On their day they can challenge any team but simultaneously, they are a team that can easily be dominated. With a variety of Premier League talent in their ranks, they will certainly have their eyes set on the knockout rounds but that is all dependant on whether the squad can “click”. The perfect example of a player who needs to “click” at the moment is Mykhailo Mudryk. The Chelsea man has struggled since his big-money move to the Premier League and fans are still waiting for him to showcase his talent. An ok return of 5 goals and 2 assists this season is nowhere near what is required of him and sooner rather than later he needs to start performing to the standard that his price tag suggests. For Ukraine, he plays at a higher standard, with 2 goals and 2 assists in qualifying he was pivotal in their journey to Euro 24 and is seen as a conduit for Ukraine’s transition from defence to attack. With 1.6 successful dribbles per game, he is the man to drag the ball up the pitch and give the opposition something to think about.

One player for Ukraine who could have their breakout is 21-year-old Georgiy Sudakov of Shakhtar Donetsk. In his last 7 games for club and country, he has scored 4 goals and

provided 3 assists. Although he is not one of the most prolific players, the attacking midfielder is not shy of running with the ball and popping up all over the pitch. He has completed 3.6 successful dribbles in the Ukrainian top division this season alongside 1.6 dribbles per game. A player who can play anywhere across the frontline, and does as seen on the heatmap, will be looking to light up this group and give the Yellow and Blue a good chance of getting to the knockouts.

Romania:

Although not the greatest team on paper, this Romanian team have perfected the art of the clean sheet. With 9 clean sheets in their last 16 games, they keep a very sturdy backline and know how to shut out an opposition. They conceded only 5 goals in 10 games which with an average of 0.5 goals conceded per game is the third lowest average in the entirety of qualifying (France 0.38 and Portugal 0.2). At the heart of the defence is Tottenham player Radu Dragusin and Andrei Burca of Al-Okhdood who started every game in qualifying. However, the star of this defence is goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan of Atletico Madrid. Since being bought from Rapid Bucuresti he has still yet to make an appearance for the Spanish side. During qualifying for Romania, the goalkeeper played 8 games in which he had a superb 86% save rate and didn’t concede a single goal from outside the box. With 81% pass accuracy inside his half, he is fairly competent with the ball at his feet and is not scared to play it short. He will certainly be kept busy throughout this tournament and will need to be at the top of his game if Romania are to make history and progress from their group.

Slovakia:

Slovakia, alike Romania, are a very difficult team to talk about. They are a team that likes an aspect of real quality but at the same time, they do deserve to be here. After a very successful qualifying in which they only lost 2 games (both to Portugal), they have shown many that they can win games and can cause a problem for this group. The main strength of Slovakia is their tough midfield which has a range of abilities but mainly consists of players willing to put their bodies on the line. It includes Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli), Ondrej Duda (Verona) and Juraj Kucka (Slovan Bratislava) who are all workhorses for their relevant clubs. During qualifying, these 3 combined for an average of 4.5 tackles per game and 2.3 interceptions per game. They provide a strong cog in this Slovakian team and they produce a physical battle for any team. Unfortunately, I can't see that being enough to progress out of this group, but you never know in these tournaments.