Belgium vs Slovakia Player Ratings as Lukaku misses chances to get his side back

Slovakia have caused the first upset of EURO 2024 by beating Belgium. Ivan Schranz scored the lone goal of the match as things took a dramatic turn at the start of the tournament in Group E.

A mistake by Jeremy Doku got Slovakia a chance to get an early lead. Koen Casteels saved the initial shot from Juraj Kucka, but the ball fell to Schranz, who made no mistake and put the ball into the back of the net.

Romelu Lukaku had multiple chances to score for Belgium but failed to convert any of his chances. The striker finally got the ball into the back of the net in the second half, but VAR ruled it out for offside.

Belgium got another goal towards the end of the match, but VAR and the referee ruled it out once again. They spotted a handball in the buildup and decided that it was apt to chalk off the goal.

Belgium National Football Team Player Ratings vs Slovakia

GOALKEEPER

Koen Casteels – 7: Did a good job overall and made three saves in the game. He couldn’t have done any better for the goal, but in hindsight, he could have pushed the ball out for a corner.

DEFENDERS

Timothy Castagne – 6: Made 5 clearances in the match, but was unable to win any of his duels. He lost possession 8 times and was not effective at both ends.

Wout Faes – 6: Was always ready to get on the toes of the Slovakian attacks and won all but one of his ground duels.

Zeno Debast – 6.5: Had a tough time on his EURO debut, but overall did a good job to keep Belgium in the game.

Yannick Carrasco – 7: Easily the best of the Belgium defenders, but hardly managed to get the flow going for his side.

MIDFIELDERS

Orel Mangala – 6: Not a good game for the defensive midfielder has he was more of a spectator on the pitch before he was hooked off before the hour mark.

Amadou Onana – 7: The midfielder managed to rise high and get the ball to Lukaku to score, but the goal was ruled out. Had a good game overall.

Jérémy Doku – 6: Tried to get past the Slovakian defenders but was stopped more often than not. He managed one shot, but failed to score.

Kevin De Bruyne – 7.5: The best Belgian on the pitch and he worked hard to help his players. However, there was no end product and it did not stop his side from losing.

Leandro Trossard – 6.5: The winger was not able to do much and missed the chance to get the equalizer despite the goalkeeper being away from the goal.

FORWARD

Romelu Lukaku – 5: Missed more chances than the entire Slovakian team. He scored twice but was unlucky to have it ruled out on both occasions.  

SUBSTITUTES

Johan Bakayoko – 6.5

Youri Tielemans – 6

Dodi Lukebakio – 5.5

Lois Openda – 7

MANAGER

Domenico Tedesco – 7

Also Read: Why did VAR disallow Romelu Lukaku’s second goal in Belgium vs Slovakia?

Slovakia National Football Team Player Ratings vs Belgium

GOALKEEPER

Martin Dúbravka – 8.5: Sves every single effort on target and managed to play a key role in helping his side win.

DEFENDERS

Peter Pekarík – 6.5: A decent game, but could have done a lot better against the Openda and others.

Denis Vavro – 7: He used all his experience to get in Lukaku’s head and managed to keep the striker quiet.

Milan Škriniar – 7.5: Rock solid once again and managed to put pressure on Lukaku at every chance.

Dávid Hancko – 7: An incredible game up fornt as he did not allow Doku any space to operate.

MIDFEILDERS

Juraj Kucka – 7.5: One of the best players on the pitch today. Failed to get any of his shots on target, but was trying to release the forwards at every opportunity.

Stanislav Lobotka – 6.5: Not his best game, but managed to follow Kevin de Bruyne around and put the pressure. He also dropped deep to and work with the center-backs to keep the possession.

Ondrej Duda – 7: Finished the game with 96% pass success but failed to get a shot away as he was more interested in ensuring his team kept the lead over going all out for more goals.

FORWARDS

Ivan Schranz – 8: The goal was the icing on the cake for the Slovakian star. It was his only shot in the game but proved to be the crucial one as his side caused the first upset of the tournament.

Róbert Boženík – 6.5: The striker had a relatively quiet game as they spent more time defending after getting the early goal. He still managed two shots, one of which was on target.

Lukáš Haraslín – 7.5: Similar to Bozenik, the left-winger spent more time waiting for the ball than on it in the game.

SUBSTITUTES

Tomáš Suslov – 6

David Strelec – 6

David Duris – 6

MANAGER

Francesco Calzona – 8.5

Also Read: Belgium vs Slovakia highlights: Slovakia stun Belgium with a 1-0 upset win at Euro 2024