Euro 2020 Matches 25 and 26: Ukraine v Belgium and Italy v Serbia

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Euro 2020 Matches 25 and 26: Ukraine v Belgium and Italy v Serbia

Belgium and Italy Score Four Goals to Advance to Round of 16

June 23, 2020

Ukraine 0 Belgium 4

 

Belgium and Italy both hit the back of the net four times in their respective matches to ensure a place in the knockout stages.

 

With Group A poised nicely, three teams needed a win to secure a Round of 16 spot. The Ukraine, however, were unable to reach third place, having lost to Italy already.

 

Belgium started on fire early as they scored in the eleventh minute. Working down the left midfield, the ball was soon cut back inboard. Axel Witsel shimmied his way around the defence. Then, as he noticed he was about to be closed by the Ukrainian goalkeeper, he passed the ball out wide to Thorgan Hazard, who slotted into the open goal.

 

Down the other end, the Ukraine sought an equaliser, but Roman Yaremchuk’s shot flew wide of the target.

 

The rest of the first thirty minutes was spent with Belgium giving away pointless free kicks and little of significant note. Eden Hazard had a ping from long range that brought about nothing. Later, Hazard found Romelu Lukaku twice with a cross, but the first was met by the Ukrainian defender, while the second missed to the right of goal off the striker’s head.

 

In amongst the free kicks, the referee decided to give Kevin de Bruyne and Lukaku a yellow card.

 

Instead of letting that deter him, Lukaku sent Hazard on a run, and as he entered the box, steadied and fired with his right foot into the back of the net.

 

After the break, it was much of the same, with substitute Divock Origi taking charge of poor defence and slotting home Belgium’s third goal.

 

With nothing to play for except some semblance of pride, the Ukraine’s Viktor Tsygankov registered his nation’s first shot on target, parried away by the Belgian goalkeeper. Substitute Oleksandr Zinchenko kept working tirelessly down the right wing before firing over the bar. Yaremchuk’s effort also missed, though he had two defenders marking him closely, along with Courtois advancing in haste.

 

Yaremchuk then set up Tsygankov right on the edge of the box, and the shot needed a Courtois parry. From the following play after the corner, Yaremchuk finally got on target, only for it to fall straight to the goalkeeper.

 

However, Belgium had other ideas, and a fourth goal ensued as Dries Mertens powered a shot after dribbling around defenders. His shot thudded against the woodwork; however, Leandro Trossard made the most, rebounding the ball into the goal.

 

The final eight minutes played out to nothing as Belgium ran away 4-0 winners, securing their place at the top of the group.

 

Italy 4 Serbia 2

 

Italy needed the win to secure their place in the Round of 16, but it was Serbia who scored first. Aleksandar Mitrović was found alone in the box by Dušan Tadić from the left wing and he made no mistake.

 

Italy responded immediately as Jorginho had a shot after jumping over defenders sliding for the ball. However, with the shot saved, it was up to Federico Chiesa to follow up, and the shot flew under the goalkeeper and over the line.

 

The match continued with end-to-end play, as Chiesa and Ciro Immobile stepped up, both having shots saved by the Serbian goalkeeper. Italy then slowed down the play, and it nearly put the Serbians to sleep as Lorenzo Insigne found a through ball for Immobile, and the Serbian goalkeeper had to be on his best to keep the ball out of the goal.

 

Seven minutes left in the half saw Insigne have a ping with his head on goal from a corner. Immobile had a shot half blocked as well. Andrea Belotti came the closest with his attempt, but the break saw the match stuck at 1-1.

 

In the second half, Tadić was found from a left winger cross by left back Aleksandar Kolarov, only for the attacking midfielder to miss to the right. Filip Đuričić had a shot also saved, as Mitrović set him up for a shot near no defenders.

 

At the Italian end, Jorginho should have scored when he was found one-on-one, but alas, his shot flew wide the mark.

 

The match soon petered into nothing, but it was Mitrović who woke the crowd up, as he scored from a chip pass by substitute Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who had stolen the ball and looked immediately for the striker.

 

Again, Italy fired up and responded, thanks to the home crowd. Federico Bernardeschi outsmarted the Serbian defence and brought the looping pass down via his chest, before smacking it into the back of the net.

 

Đuričić thought he had given Serbia the lead again with his shot from the edge of the box, only for the ball to fall safely in the hands of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

 

Instead, substitute Moise Kean guided his header into the back of the net for Italy’s third goal, giving them the lead for the first time in the match.

 

Down the other end, Luka Milivojević curled his shot to equalise, only to miss by a small margin.

 

However, Kean had other ideas, and scored with his head again, this time with the cross coming from the right wing.

 

Chiesa nearly made it five goals but failed to hit the target. Filip Kostić thought he had a chance as well; he could not capitalise on his good fortune.

 

In the end, Italy won 4-2, knowing they were down twice in the match, and feeling good about their fightback nature and resolve.

 

 

	Group A	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	Belgium	3	2	1	0	7	+7
2	Italy	3	2	0	1	6	0
3	Serbia	3	1	1	1	4	0
4	Ukraine	3	0	0	3	0	-7

 

Serbia, meanwhile, must wait for results in the other groups, though with a win and draw, it is likely they will progress to the Round of 16. Meanwhile, Belgium will tackle the second place of Group C. Italy will tackle second place of Group B. Both these groups play tomorrow.