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Belgium sputtered through to the last 16, where they will play France, after failing to beat Ukraine in the tightest of the Euro 2024 groups.
Serhiy Rebrov’s Ukrainians go out in cruel fashion after finishing bottom on goal difference, despite gaining four points, like all teams in Group E
Denmark qualified second in the English group with three points.
Belgium was loudly booed and booed by their own supporters at the end. Kevin de Bruyne and Jan Vertonghen walked to the Belgian end after the final whistle, but the cheering became louder.
Eventually they turned around with a shrug and were called back to the halfway line by boss Domenico Tedesco for a group discussion.
Belgium could not bypass Ukraine, but did manage to secure a place in the last sixteen
Serhiy Rebrov’s team received applause from their fans in the stands despite their exit from the group stage
Ukraine finished bottom of their group despite finishing on four points – one higher than some third-place qualifiers
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian players were greeted by their fans in bizarre scenes.
The draw between Slovakia and Romania in the other match meant that Ukraine had to win this match and although they finished with a lot of chances, they could not find a way to beat Koen Casteels.
Usually it was the 3-0 defeat against Romania in the first match that cost them.
Ukraine took five at the back, sat deep and wanted to frustrate Belgium. An early chance was squandered by Romelu Lukaku, who latched onto it with his left foot and made poor contact, and there was the ever-present threat of Kevin de Bruyne.
The Belgium captain, who inspired his team to their first win of the tournament against Romania on Saturday, tried to catch goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin from a disguised free-kick wide the right side, from where he headed for goal at the near post and narrowly missed. .
The ball fizzled into the side netting, but it was a reminder of his creative range and imagination. Trubin made another save to deny De Bruyne from distance in the first half, and Ukraine had promising openings at the break.
Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels made saves from Roman Yaremchuk and Georgiy Sudakov. Artem Dovbyk also pulled a decent chance wide from twenty meters after an error in possession by Wout Faes.
Another promising run from Dovbyk fizzled out as he rolled back a pass rather than going for goal with his right foot and perhaps the best chance of all fell to Yaremchuk four minutes before the break when he cut off a passing square and failed to find the ball. Dovbyk when he should have shot.
Ukraine grew in confidence and aggression as the minutes drew closer to their departure
Romelu Lukaku had small chances, but saw the chances go begging on Wednesday
Kevin De Bruyne was a constant threat and was later named Player of the Match in Stuttgart
The Manchester City midfielder was attacked with laser pointers by opposition fans as he prepared to take a free-kick
With half an hour to go, Ukraine became more adventurous. The other game was a draw and as it stood they went out fourth so had little choice but to continue.
Immediately there were more inviting spaces for the Belgians. De Bruyne found Lukaku and he forced Trubin into a save. Yannick Carrasco bounced a pass from Lukaku before forcing another and Oleksandr Zincheko blocked Jeremy Doku.
Faes made an important block and Dovbyk blasted an effort into the side netting.
Rebrov’s final pitch was to bring on Andriy Yarmolenko, the former West Ham striker now with Dynamo Kiev.
Georgiy Sudakov could hardly believe he had missed his late – and crucial – goal in stoppage time
The Belgian fans made it clear after the final whistle that they need a stronger performance against last-16 opponents France
Ruslan Malinovskiyi scored almost immediately from a corner kick in a hectic final phase. Casteels clawed back and made a crucial, if sloppy save, before Taras Stepanenko headed over from a corner. Timothy Castagne blocked a ferocious move from Malinovskiyi.
In stoppage time, the Belgian defense opened up for Sudakov when he collected a pass from Malinkovskiyi, but he could not find a way past Casteels.