The Blue and Yellows started the tournament with a loss to Romania (0:3). Today, our team faced Slovakia, which had an unexpected win against Belgium (1:0) in their opening match. Compared to the previous game, Serhiy Rebrov made four changes to Ukraine's starting lineup.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

The first minutes of the match were calm, then Slovakia started creating chances. Trubin made saves against shots from Haraslin and Schranz, while Brazhko responded with a long-range shot on target. Hancko tested our goalkeeper from a free kick, and in the 17th minute, Slovakia took the lead—after a throw-in and a cross from Haraslin, Schranz won the aerial battle against Zinchenko and headed the ball into the net.

Subsequently, Ukraine seized the initiative, creating several good chances. Pekarík blocked Dovbyk’s shot at the last moment, and Yarmolenko failed to connect properly with the far post after a set-piece. In another attack, Yarmolenko couldn't score after a clever backheel pass from Dovbyk, and then Tymchyk's powerful shot hit the post. Later, Mudryk broke into the box but lost his duel with Dúbravka. Just before halftime, both teams exchanged shots on target, with Zinchenko hitting a free kick and Haraslin striking on a counterattack.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

In the second half, Ukraine continued to attack. First, Dovbyk failed to finish Mudryk’s cross from a great position, but in the 54th minute, our team equalized, scoring their first goal of the Euro. Mudryk initiated a counterattack, and in the second phase, Zinchenko delivered a pass into the box, where Shaparenko finished with a touch.

After that, Slovakia focused on defense, while the Blue and Yellows looked for various attacking options. The next dangerous moment came in the 74th minute when Mudryk’s shot from a tight angle hit the post during a counterattack. However, in the 80th minute, our pressure paid off with a second goal: Shaparenko sent a forward pass to Yaremchuk, who nudged the ball past Dúbravka.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

In the final minutes, the Blue and Yellows withstood the opponents' onslaught and secured their first victory of the tournament with a 2:1 scoreline. Ukraine’s next EURO 2024 match will be on June 26 in Stuttgart against Belgium.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

EURO 2024. Final Tournament. Group E

Slovakia — Ukraine — 1:2 (1:0)

Goals: Schranz (17) — Shaparenko (54), Yaremchuk (80).

Slovakia: Dúbravka, Pekarík, Vavro, Škriniar (c), Hancko (Obert, 67), Kucka, Lobotka, Duda (Beneš, 60), Schranz (Sauer, 86), Boženík (Strelec, 60), Haraslín (Suslov, 67).

Substitutes: Rodák, Ravas, Rigo, Gyömbér, Tupta, Hrošovský, De Marco, Ďuriš, Bero, Kosha.

Coach: Francesco Calzona.

Ukraine: Trubin, Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko, Shaparenko (Talovierov, 90+2), Brazhko (Sydorchuk, 85), Sudakov, Yarmolenko (c) (Zubkov, 67), Dovbyk (Yaremchuk, 67), Mudryk (Malinovskyi, 85).

Substitutes: Bushchan, Lunin, Konoplia, Svatok, Stepanenko, Tsygankov, Mykolenko, Bondar, Vanat, Mykhaylichenko.

Coach: Serhiy Rebrov.

Referee: Michael Oliver (England).

Yellow card: Yaremchuk (84).

June 21. Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf Arena.

Standings

June 22: Belgium vs Romania. Cologne Stadium, Cologne. Kick-off: 22:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Slovakia vs Romania. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Ukraine vs Belgium. Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

Kick-off times are in Kyiv time.