Last Updated on July 3, 2024
A match of Group E is going to be a conflict of fates to be held on Friday in Düsseldorf. Slovakia and Ukraine had a completely different run of their opening matches in Euro 2024. Slovakia managed to quite unexpectedly win against Belgium 1-0, not without the help of two disallowed goals from the Belgian team, but still.
The Ukrainian team is not in the most critical situation, but one more loss might become a serious obstacle on the way to the knockout rounds, especially in their upcoming match against Belgium. Two outcoming teams have a chance to win the game, but the pressure is particularly high for Ukraine.
Another anticipated match that fans can look into, is between Poland and Austria. They will face off in Berlin on the same day. Both teams need to bounce back to avoid an early exit from Euro 2024. Poland lost 2-1 to Netherlands in their opening match, despite an early lead, while Austria fell short 1-0 to France.
Poland will be hoping to have striker Rober Lewandowski back in the team to improve their offensive side, while Austria will strive to build up on a better performance than their first match. Notably, both teams came into the match with unbeaten streaks snapped, with Poland losing their game after eight wins and Austria ending a seven-game unbeaten run.
The two sides have a history of rivalry, but the last game they played against each other was more than five years ago, and the fact that their last two games ended in a win by Poland in the Euro 2020 qualifier and a goalless draw.
That very day, France and Netherlands, the teams leading the Group D, will face each other in a crucial match in Leipzig to secure their position in the knockout stage. Both of them have already scored three points in their opening matches, with the Netherlands edging out Poland 2-1 and France narrowly defeating Austria 1-0.
The Netherlands seem to be the favorite as they have already won four games after defeating Canada and Iceland in friendlies. The only recent defeat they faced was against Germany where they lost 2-1. France has had a good record winning seven of the last eight meetings but now they might have a tough match.
Both squads faced problems in their opening games, with the Netherlands needing a late goal to secure victory and France losing Kylian Mbappe to a broken nose during their win. It is still a big question of which team will perform better, but this game will determine the leader of the group.