Ukraine exited the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship on June 26 after a scoreless draw with Belgium in Group E.
All four teams, including Belgium, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Romania, approached the last round of the group stage with three points each. Romania topped the tournament table with the best goal difference.
To advance to the knockout stage, Ukraine had to defeat Belgium or play a draw and hope that the parallel match between Slovakia and Romania would end in a victory for one of the teams.
Ukraine and Belgium ended up with a 0:0 draw that placed Belgium in the second place of the Group E table and Ukraine – in the 4th, the last one.
"In heart, it feels like we lost this Euro in the first match (against Romania). There are many reasons (for the defeat), we analyzed this game," Serhii Rebrov told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne Sport after the game with Belgium.
"I see that the players are reacting (to the instructions). We didn't make it to the playoffs because we lost important points, and not just points, but goals as well."
The parallel match of Group E ended with a 1:1 draw between Slovakia and Romania.
All the teams finished the group stage with four points, so additional indicators determined the final position of the participants in the group. Romania and Belgium qualified for the playoffs as the group's winner and runner-up, while Slovakia was ranked third.
Ukraine played three games in total at the Euros. In the first match, it lost to Romania 0:3 and then beat Slovakia 2:1.
Elsa Court
