Shocked Belgium look to get European Championship back on track

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Belgium faces Romania on Saturday after suffering the biggest shock of Euro 2024 so far by losing its Group E opener to Slovakia. The world No. 3 ranked team lost 1-0 to end a 14-match unbeaten streak heading into the tournament. Romania beat Ukraine 3-0 in their opening match to top the group. Kick-off will take place at 9:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT) in Cologne. Here’s what you need to know about the match:

Matching Facts

— Romania will advance to the round of 16 by beating Belgium. A draw is also likely to move them forward, with no team having failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Euros with four points.

— Belgium’s shock defeat likely brought back bad memories of the 2022 World Cup, when they were eliminated in the group stage in Qatar, despite entering the tournament ranked second in the world.

— Romania’s victory against Ukraine was the first at a Euro in 24 years.

— Romelu Lukaku was the top scorer in qualifying for the Euro with 14 goals, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (10), Kylian Mbappe (9) and Harry Kane (8). But he suffered a frustrating match against Slovakia due to two goals being ruled out by VAR.

— Nicolae Stanciu stood out in Romania’s victory against Ukraine and scored one of the goals of the tournament with a long-range strike. He also almost scored directly from a corner that hit the bar.

Team News

— Romania has not reported any injury concerns.

— Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen and Arthur Theate did not play against Slovakia, having injury doubts for this match.

In numbers

— Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time top scorer with 85 goals. His 14 goals in qualifying set a new record for the European Championship.

— Romania’s 3-0 victory against Ukraine was the most important ever won at a Euro.

— The loss to Slovakia was Belgium’s first defeat under coach Domenico Tedesco, who took over after the last World Cup and won 10 of his 15 matches in charge.

What they say

— “It’s a difficult match, totally different from the first. However, we have courage, we have confidence in ourselves and we know what we can do. Romanian midfielder Ianis Hagi.

— “The only thing we didn’t do well (against Slovakia) was missing chances. We had plenty. It’s part of the game.” – Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco