The current iteration of Belgium men’s soccer already wasted its latest golden generation. Monday’s humiliation at the hands of Slovakia in its Euro 2024 opener was an insulting cherry on top.
The Red Devils entered this matchup ranked No. 3 in the world by FIFA. We can dispute the merits of such a questionable ranking at a different time — because it is dubious — but the fact remains that the world’s most powerful governing soccer body still thought that highly of Belgium.
Slovakia, meanwhile, was ranked No. 48 by FIFA. Again, Slovakia’s overall team quality was probably better at face value, but that’s not what some important soccer minds thought.
Yet, for most of the 90 minutes, Slovakia appeared to be the better team.
It took a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the proceedings from an Ivan Schranz goal and never relinquished it. Even with spirited Slovakian defending, it probably helped that VAR detected not one but two Belgian missteps on massive goal opportunities.
The first came early in the second half. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku — one of the greatest pure goal-scorers ever — had an easy tap-in on the doorstep. The only issue? He was clearly offside upon the immediate VAR review.
Tough break, man:
After a review, this was ruled no goal for Romelu Lukaku and Belgium pic.twitter.com/E9Oa8BL0sq
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024
It was this close for Romelu Lukaku and Belgium to tie things up 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/mKh6ZxJide
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024
Later, with Belgium desperately holding onto any whiff of hope, Lois Openda appeared to set Lukaku up with another perfect goal. However, after the fact, VAR determined that Openda touched the ball with his hand before getting control, thanks to a contact sensor.
Sure, it probably didn’t meaningfully change the trajectory of the ball. Still, Openda did technically break the main rule of soccer, and as such, this goal was also disallowed:
After a review, Romelu Lukaku has a second goal of the day disallowed, this time due to a hand ball pic.twitter.com/g7xzxIyfGR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024
That is just rotten luck for Belgium and all supporters of the Red Devils.
By the disparity of the pre-game FIFA World Rankings, it is officially the biggest upset in men’s Euro tournament history. My goodness:
EURO 2024'S FIRST MAJOR SHOCK in the books. Slovakia topple Belgium for just their third-ever win at the tournament. 🇸🇰
Belgium are ranked third in the world. Slovakia 48th. By the FIFA rankings, its the biggest-ever European Championship upset. 💪
VAR unranked. 😉 pic.twitter.com/lH5zoVLn1A
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) June 17, 2024
By no means is Belgium done. It still has two very winnable games with Romania and Ukraine. With that said, taking one on the chin against a considerable underdog like Slovakia is the worst possible way for this top contender to begin Euro 2024.
