Slovakia take on Ukraine in the round 2 match of UEFA Euro-2024 group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, June 21st at Merkur Spiel-Arena (Düsseldorf).
Slovakia attends another major tournament. The "Repre" (Slovak National Team) had a stroke of luck with the draw – last year's qualifying group was fairly balanced, apart from the clear favorite, Portugal. Portugal justified their status, winning all 10 of their matches, but Calzona's team also deservedly secured second place in the group. After a 0-0 draw in their opening match against Luxembourg, Slovakia didn't drop a single point against the other opponents. Admittedly, they tarnished their record slightly in March, suffering a heavy defeat to Austria and narrowly salvaging a draw with a late goal in Norway. However, just before the tournament, they managed to score four unanswered goals against both San Marino and a solid, though unmotivated, Wales. At the Euro, Slovakia started against the group favorite, Belgium, and caused an upset. Taking advantage of an opponent's mistake, they scored a goal and, despite significant pressure, managed to hold on to their lead.
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Ukraine, soon after Serhiy Rebrov's appointment, almost defeated Germany – Germany salvaged a draw with a couple of late goals. They then played commendable matches against England and Italy. In the latter match, there were some controversies (most believe a penalty should have been awarded to Mudryk at the end of the eighth round match). With equal points, Italy finished second. Nevertheless, Ukraine showed class and character in the March playoff matches, securing comeback victories with 2-1 against both Bosnia in Zenica and Iceland in Wrocław. Essentially, there was only one failed match, even the first half hour, against Poland. Despite the 1-3 loss in Warsaw, the Ukrainians held Germany to a goalless draw in a friendly and finished the camp with a thrashing of Moldova (along with a new injury to Mykolenko). At the Euro, however, against Romania, they failed once again with their optimal squad: they tried to impose their will and controlled possession but failed to respond to the three goals scored by their opponents, apart from making numerous mistakes.
The last time these teams faced each other was in the 2018 Nations League. They exchanged home victories on that occasion. Overall, Ukraine has won one more match, 3-2, with three additional matches ending in draws. The "Yellow-Blues" remain the favorites for this match, but this seems to be driven by inertia. Given their performances in the first round, we are betting that the nominal hosts (Slovakia) will not lose.
Prediction for the match: Slovakia not to lose (1X).
