Belgium suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Slovakia in their Euro 2024 Group E opener, with Romelu Lukaku having two goals disallowed by VAR. Slovakia capitalized early with a goal from Ivan Schranz after Jeremy Doku’s costly error near his penalty area.
Lukaku twice thought he had equalized for Belgium in the second half, but technology intervened both times. The first disallowed goal was for a marginal offside, and the second was for a handball in the build-up. Despite a stronger second-half performance, Belgium couldn’t break through Slovakia’s disciplined defense.
Slovakia’s early lead came in the seventh minute when Doku’s misplaced pass allowed Robert Bozenik to set up Juraj Kucka, whose shot was saved by Koen Casteels but tapped in by Schranz.
Slovakia, buoyed by their solid defense, now have a good chance of progressing to the last 16, while Belgium faces mounting pressure and must regroup for their remaining group matches against Romania and Ukraine.
