Euro 2024: Mbappe Seals Victory For France As Lukaku Faces Disappointment

In the Euro 2024 match between Austria and France, France secured a 1-0 victory. The decisive goal came from Kylian Mbappe, who outpaced his defender and delivered a cross that was inadvertently turned into the net by Maximilian Wober. Despite missing another scoring opportunity later, Mbappe's contribution was crucial.

This win marked a significant milestone for French coach Didier Deschamps, who has now achieved 100 victories while leading Les Bleus. Additionally, France has extended their record by winning their sixth consecutive opening game of a major tournament, the longest current streak for any European team. Austria's seven-game unbeaten run ended with this defeat.

Romania triumphed over Ukraine with a 3-0 scoreline in their Euro 2024 match, despite holding just 29% possession—the lowest share for a winning team in European Championship history. Nicolae Stanciu opened the scoring and became the first player to net a goal at the Euros while playing for a Saudi Arabian club.

Romania also saw three different players score in a major tournament match for the fourth time in their history. Dennis Man provided multiple assists, a feat last achieved by a Romanian player in 1994. Ukraine continued their record of most games played at the Euros without keeping a clean sheet.

In Group E, Slovakia pulled off an upset by defeating Belgium 1-0. Ivan Schranz scored the fastest goal in Slovakia's history at a major tournament. Romelu Lukaku missed several key chances for Belgium, resulting in their first group stage defeat at the Euros since 2016.

Kevin De Bruyne struggled but still managed to create four chances, bringing his total to 40 chances created at the Euros—the third-highest since 1980. Jeremy Doku made an error leading to Slovakia's goal but redeemed himself with six successful dribbles.

Slovakia's defensive resilience was bolstered by having three players aged 35 or older in their starting XI, making them only the second nation in Euro history to do so, following France in 2008.