EURO Matchday 13 Preview

Group E & F are set to wrap up on the 13th matchday at the Euros. Can Turkey beat their demons? Will Portugal take a 3rd victory? And which of the 4 equally matched teams will come through Group E?

Group E & F are set to wrap up on the 13th matchday at the Euros. Can Turkey beat their demons? Will Portugal take a 3rd victory? And which of the 4 equally matched teams will come through Group E?

Slovakia v Romania

With a 1:0 win over Belgium, Slovakia registered the biggest upset in the first gameweek at this summer’s championship. Slovakia, ranked 45th in the Fifa Men’s rankings, managed to topple a mighty Belgian outfit that had not lost an international fixture since September 2022. Nor did this historic victory look like a one-off, with Slovakia taking another early lead against Ukraine 4 days later. 

Just like in the first match, 30-year-old Ivan Schranz opened the scoring with a fine back-post header. It’s been a fairy-tale tournament for the Slavia Prague winger who has otherwise enjoyed a fairly unremarkable international career. Schranz only made his international debut as a 26-year-old in 2020, and prior to the European Championships, he had managed just 3 goals in his first 22 national team appearances. 

Unfortunately, Slovakia’s defense could not hold strong like they did against Belgium, and a second-half Ukrainian onslaught saw Slovakia relinquish all 3-points to their European neighbors. This second-half performance will need to be corrected if Slovakia are to stand a chance of earning points this Wednesday. Francesco Calzona’s side failed to register a single shot on target in the final 45 minutes and were unequivocally outfought.

Fortunately for Slovakia, all is still to play for in Group E. Romania’s 2:0 defeat leaves every side in Group E on 3 points - the first time this has ever happened at a European Championship. Romania’s Dennis Man will be frustrated that he couldn’t capitalize on a spectacular opportunity with the scoreline at 0:1, but all in all, Romania were second-best throughout the fixture in Cologne. Belgium’s physical midfield and backline formed an iron-clad defense, and even the so influential Nicolae Stanciu wasn’t afforded a sniff. Romania’s captain and creative hub completed 0 dribbles, 0 shots, and had the second-most turnovers on the pitch. 

The lack of impact from the Romanian front line could provide an opportunity for fresh blood to leave a mark. One player who could be introduced into the starting eleven is Ianis Hagi. The son of the great Gheorge Hagi has struggled to perform at club level since breaking onto the stage as part of the fascinating Romanian outfit that made it to the semi-finals at the 2019 U21 EUROS. Still, his talent is undeniable, and his extraordinary two-footed gift makes him an unpredictable threat as a wide playmaker. After coming off the bench in Romania’s opening two fixtures, perhaps matchday 3 is where he will finally be offered the stage from the start.

Prediction: Romania Win

Ukraine v Belgium

After trailing 1:0 to Slovakia at the interval, Ukraine’s European Championship looked done and dusted less than a week after the competition's first kick-off. Yet, the war-torn Eastern European nation showed the resilience and fighting spirit that has invariably been part of the nation’s identity since the Russian invasion in 2020. 

An unchanged eleven took to the pitch in the second half with an entirely new spirit to their performance. After being dictated in the first period, Ukraine swung the match back in their favor again, scoring two electrifying goals to snatch all 3 points at the final whistle. Roman Yaremchuk scored the winner via a poacher’s finish. Since a break-out competition at EURO 2020, Yaremchuk has scored just 11 goals in 75 league starts for the likes of Club Brügge, S.L. Benfica, and FC Valencia, but his record at the international level continues to prove why he is a main-stay in Sergiy Rebrov’s attack. 

Despite scoring the winner, it wasn’t Yaremchuk who picked up the man-of-the-match award at full-time. Instead, that accolade went to Mykola Shaparenko. The 25-year-old scored the equalizer and created Yaremchuk’s winner to prove again why he is the creative heartbeat of this side. With such an undeniable quality it is surprising that Shaparenko has never left Dinamo Kiew for a Western-European club. However, the interest has been there in the past, with the likes of Olympique Marseille and FC Bayern coming in for the creative playmaker at one point or another throughout his career.

Ukraine faces Belgium in th MHP-Arena in Stuttgart on matchday 3. After a miserable 1:0 defeat to kick off their Euro campaign, Belgium are finally on the board now with a 2:0 victory over Romania. Youri Tielemans put The Red Devils in front after 2 minutes with the third-fastest goal in EUROs history, but Domenico Tedesco’s side needed until the 80th minute to finally put a cap on the affair. It wasn’t for a lack of chance creation - Belgium created 20 shots - but rather, wasteful finishing. Just like in Belgium’s opening fixture, Romelu Lukaku was the face of this unfortunate affair. The 31-year-old registered a game-high 5 shots and had yet another goal ruled out for a marginal offside. It’s now the third goal that Lukaku has not been given at this year’s competition after a tight offside decision failed to go in his favor. 

If Belgium still needs to iron out their attacking efficiency, they can at least be happy to count upon a revitalized defense. Jan Vertonghen’s return to fitness was vital in adding leadership and experience, but equally impressive was goalkeeper Kuen Casteels. Domenico Tedesco made a bold decision to leave Thibaut Courtois at home. Courtois is a difficult and often toxic character for a dressing room, but he is undoubtedly Belgium’s best goalkeeper with another Champions League medal around his neck this season. Still, Tedesco opted for Casteels instead, and the 31-year-old justified the decision with an exceptional performance on Saturday. The former VfL Wolfsburg goalkeeper made a monstrous 1v1 save against Dennis Man, and just 10 minutes later, it was his long-range pass that assisted Kevin de Bruyne’s goal. 

Prediction: Belgium Win

Georgia v Portugal 

Georgia’s wait for a first win at an international competition draws on, but The Crusaders could at least draw a point from their matchday 2 encounter to keep their hopes of a round of 16 fixture alive. Georges Mikautadze gave the EURO rookies the lead in first-half stoppage time, but the real hero for Georgia was goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The 23-year-old has been anticipated for a move to a big club all season, and following his performance against Czechia, it will be bound to happen this summer. Mamardashvili made an astounding 11 saves, with his performance keeping Georgia alive throughout. 

To say that it was a fortunate point is a bit of an understatement. Georgia managed just 5 shots to Czechia’s 27, with Mikautadze’s first-half penalty kick the only shot on target that Georgia managed all match. In particular, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was held extraordinarily quiet. Georgia’s 23-year-old top talent has managed just 2 shots in the tournament, with not a single one hitting the target. The Napoli forward has not had a sniff of an opportunity, but it was his 82nd-minute replacement, Saba Lobjanidze, who ultimately had all 3-points at his feet in stoppage time. 

A poorly executed Czechia corner landed at the feet of Giorgi Chakvetadze who expertly dragged the ball up-field before delicately laying into the path of his former Dinamo Tiflis teammate Lobjanidze. All Lobjanidze needed to do was slot the ball home, but a horrible mishit saw the ball fly into the stands of the Volksparkstadion. It's a miss Georgia may come to rue, seeing as they now need to beat an incredibly strong Portuguese outfit to have any hope of venturing to the knockout stages.  

Portugal made it two wins in two at the European Championships, continuing their fine run of form that transcends the start of the competition 9 days ago. Roberto Martínez is still yet to lose a competitive fixture since his appointment as Portugal boss, with his side even winning all 10 of their qualifying fixtures for the tournament. Against Czechia Portugal looked sluggish, but against Turkey, they were quick out of the gates and dominated their opponents from start to finish. Martínez deserves a lot of credit for Portugal’s improvement, with the 50-year-old Spaniard making some smart tactical tweaks from the first match 4 days prior. Martínez changed the in-possession structure from a 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3 and brought in João Pahlinha as a defensive midfielder to deliver more balance to the side. Not only were Portugal less crowded in the final third, but their defensive fortitude significantly improved as well, with Turkey mustering just 3 shots on target throughout the entire fixture. 

Perhaps the only factor that has yet to fully click into place is Cristiano Ronaldo. The veteran provided an unselfish assist for Bruno Fernandes in the 56th minute, but the 39-year-old is still yet to find the net himself despite taking 9 shots at the competition. He is still bringing a lot to the side, but if Ronaldo fails to score against Georgia, it will be the first time that Ronaldo has ever failed to score in the groupstage of an international competition.

Prediction: Portugal Win

Czech Republic v Turkey

After a pragmatic defensive display versus Portugal, Czechia changed it up on Saturday with an attacking outlook that took the game to Georgia. Manager Ivan Hašek criticized how deep his side played throughout most of the match, and he made his frustrations known in the starting lineup, and tactical approach. Czechia made 3 changes to the side that were beaten on Tuesday and played heavy-metal attacking football that created chances en masse. 

Czechia had taken 13 shots at half-time, and 27 by full-time. The Národní tým pounded on Georgia’s gates throughout the 90 minutes, but only one of Patrik Schick’s 7 shots managed to find its way past the remarkable Giorgi Mamardashvili. As so often with Schick, it was a mixed evening with highs and lows. The 28-year-old scored his 20th international goal in only his 40th appearance, but in the 68th minute, he was forced off the pitch with what looks like the latest muscle injury. Since scoring the joint-most goals at the 2020 Euros, Schick’s career has been riddled by small and large injuries alike. The Czech international has missed almost 500 days of football since the start of the 2021/22 season, and Czechia fans will be praying that this isn’t the latest debilitating injury that rules him out of a crucial international encounter.

As for Czechia’s opponents, they will need to do some serious soul-searching after a horrible second match at the EUROS. After a spectacular 3:1 victory to kick off their campaign, Vincenzo Montella shocked the media with a new formation, and 4 changes to the eleven that started 4 days earlier in Dortmund. First-choice goalkeeper Mert Günok was forced to miss out due to injury, but otherwise, goalscorers Mert Müldur and Arda Güler were both left out of the side for tactical reasons. 

It is safe to say that Vincenzo Montella’s rotational ploy worked against him, but the 50-year-old Italian was also not helped by Turkey imploding in defence. Goalkeeper Altay Bayındır, and centerbacks Samet Akaydin and Abdülkerim Bardakçı all experienced horror outings. Particularly  Bayındır and Akaydin were at fault for one of the most comical own goals in EURO history. A seemingly harmless backpass turned deadly when Akaydin played towards his own goal at the exact moment Bayındır moved outside to create an angle. It is safe to say that Montella has a lot to think about ahead of a crucial fixture for Turkey’s hopes of surviving the groupstage. 

Prediction: Czech Republic Win