When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups?
Belgium and Slovakia meet in their first Group E match at UEFA EURO 2024.
When: Tuesday 18 June (00:00 GMT+8 kick-off)
Where: Munich Football Arena
What: UEFA EURO 2024 Group E Matchday 1
What do you need to know?
These nations are facing each other in a competitive fixture for the first time. Belgium breezed through qualifying, topping their group with 20 points from eight matches, with Romelu Lukaku at his prolific best as he plundered a remarkable 14 goals. Slovakia were also impressive in the European Qualifiers as they finished second behind Portugal, winning seven of their ten matches in the section.
The Slovaks have only made it past the group stage once since independence, in 2016, and could not progress from their pool three summers ago. Belgium are also playing at a third consecutive EURO, and will be aiming far higher than their last two finals campaigns as both were curtailed in the quarter-finals.
Possible line-ups
Belgium: Casteels; Faes, Witsel, De Cuyper; Castagne, Mangala, Onana, Doku; Trossard, Lukaku, De Bruyne
Slovakia: Dúbravka; Pekarík, Vavro, Škriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka, Duda; Schranz, Boženík, Haraslín
Form guide
Belgium:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWDDWW
Slovakia:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWDLWW
Expert predictions
David D’Hondt, Belgium reporter
The whole Belgian team cannot wait to get started. They know how important it is to get off to a positive start, as it sets the tone for the group phase. Despite defensive issues, Tedesco’s team are arguably the favourites against Slovakia. I expect Belgium to take control of the ball. They will try to dominate possession, but they must be wary of Slovakia’s high-tempo pressing game with their opponents’ full-backs encouraged to get forward attack.
Rastislav Hribik, Slovakia reporter
Reaching a third EURO in a row is a huge success for modest country like ours, but this squad – a mix of youth and experience – is not just satisfied to be here. Everybody wants more, which gives fans hope that these players might come up woth something special. Slovak Footballer of the Year for 2023 and 2024, Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka has said that he welcomes being an outsider, which hopefully goes for his team-mates as well. Avoiding defeat against Belgium would feel a lot like a victory.
What the coaches say
Domenico Tedesco, Belgium coach: “I am very happy that we can finally start playing. We’ve been through hard work and intense months, and the recent weeks have been very positive. We’ll see what our level is during the tournament. Slovakia are an aggressive team who press high, and they don’t stop for 90 minutes. They play vertically and try to always attack. A big tournament is always special, because of the atmosphere and the emotions it provokes. We’ll see how I sleep tonight and how I wake up tomorrow.”
Francesco Calzona, Slovakia coach: “The team is in good shape, everyone trained and recovered fully. Belgium have very few weak points, with top level players. We need to give it our all, to try and get a positive result. We know they are the favourites. It’s true that Belgium are good on the counterattack, but we have our own strengths – we can press high up the pitch, but need to do it well. I’m not just worried by Belgium’s counters, but about all their qualities.”