Slovakia beat Belgium in their Group E opener in Frankfurt, with Ivan Schranz’s seventh-minute goal the only one in an entertaining game full of missed chances.
Belgium started strongly, with Jérémy Doku immediately showing his skills, his superb solo run ending with Romelu Lukaku having the first chance of the game which was kept out by Slovakia goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka.
Schranz was just as well-positioned on the other side of the pitch only minutes later, volleying in the opener from a rebound following Koen Casteels’ initial save from Juraj Kucka.
Belgium struggled to react, with Stanislav Lobotka controlling the tempo of the game, and Slovakia’s high press worked wonders for large spells of the match. Lukáš Haraslín almost doubled his team’s lead with a thunderous volley before the break, but Casteels flew to his left to keep it out.
The Red Devils then started really putting the pressure on. Dúbravka denied Lukaku first, then was once again decisive from a Leandro Trossard effort. Finally, when D
úbravka was beaten, Dávid Hancko saved his team with a fantastic goal-line clearance to seal the three points and a memorable win for Slovakia
Source: Emirates News Agency