By Christian Radnedge
STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) – Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco had pledged before their final Euro 2024 Group E match against Ukraine that they would go all out to win, but even though they reached the last 16 with a 0-0 draw, no team should fear facing them after such a tepid display.
Tedesco seemed at first to be opting for a gung-ho approach, selecting Leandro Trossard to start in a front three alongside Romelu Lukaku and the rapid Jeremy Doku.
However, while they dominated possession, they looked slow in building up attacks and in the first half in particular they struggled to open up the Ukrainian defence.
Over the entire match Ukraine had 14 attempts on goal compared with Belgium’s 11 – even with Ukraine fielding the youngest starting line-up at this Euros so far and without their influential winger Mykhailo Mudryk due to injury.
Hopes were high that Belgium had recovered from their opening loss to Slovakia with their 2-0 win over Romania. But in Stuttgart on Wednesday, Lukaku looked barely mobile up front and Kevin De Bruyne was unusually wasteful with his passing.
Whenever the 31-year-old Lukaku did get a sight at goal his final shot was either blocked or easily saved by Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
Lukaku has now had the joint-most shots (10) of any player at Euro 2024 and the most shots on target (7). However, he is still yet to register a goal having already had three disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the previous matches.
His task won’t get any easier against their next opponents France. Belgium fans jeering the team at fulltime on Wednesday may have been cursing the fact that only one goal was needed to top the group and ensure an easier last 16 fixture.
They will have hope, however, that they are not the only team who have players looking overworked from a long, punishing domestic season.
France were held 1-1 by an already eliminated Poland in their final game, while the Netherlands looked similarly off the pace in their final Group D match against Austria, which they lost 3-2.
Tournament favourites England have similarly drawn boos from their own supporters – despite topping their group – while defending champions Italy have only shown glimpses of quality across their matches.
Tedesco may well think about giving more minutes to forward Lois Openda who recently had his most successful season to date, scoring 28 goals in all competitions for German side RB Leipzig.
The 24-year-old has only played seven minutes at the Euros, so unlike some of his team mates he should be well-rested ahead of the clash against France in Duesseldorf on Monday.
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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