EPL Players at EURO 2024 – Day 4
The end of the first round of group stage games is almost here, with 2 more matches tonight, so as part of our EPLNews EURO 2024 report, here is how Premier League players performed in yesterday’s games.
Romania 3-0 Ukraine
In a surprising turn of events in Munich, Romania stuck to their game plan and ran out 3-0 winners against Ukraine.
Tottenham’s Radu Drăgușin was Romania’s only EPL player, and he had a busy afternoon in the heart of defence, but completed his tasks successfully, with a great performance to help keep a clean sheet. His 10 clearances are the most by one player in a single match so far at the EURO.
Ukraine’s Premier League contingent was made up of Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Zinchenko from Arsenal and Mykhailo Mudryk from Chelsea, while Everton’s Vitali Mykolenko was an unused sub. The Ukrainians will be disappointed with their performance, especially since better things were expected from stars such as Mudryk, who missed a couple of big chances.
However, it was a day when their defence let them down, with the first 2 goals largely the fault of goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The first one, from Nicolae Stanciu, was an absolute beauty, and probably the goal of the tournament so far.
https://x.com/EURO2024/status/1802819013828841554
Ratings
Romania: Radu Drăgușin (Tottenham) – 7.5
Ukraine: Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth) – 6; Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal) – 6.5; Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea) – 6.5
For highlights and reactions, click here.
Belgium 0-1 Slovakia
In the first proper shock at EURO 2024, Slovakia scored an early goal and held on for a famous win against a much more fancied Belgium side.
The EPL representation in the Belgian team was significant. While Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans had to settle for a cameo off the bench, 6 other players were involved from the start. Fulham’s Timothy Castagne did not enjoy a good game at right-back, while Leicester’s Wout Faes can take at least a bit of encouragement from his performance in the heart of the defence.
The midfield was anchored by Everton’s Amadou Onana, who was arguably the best player of the pitch for Belgium. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne pulled the strings in midfield as usual, but with little of his expected efficiency. Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard played on the right wing, but failed to make any significant impact. On the opposite side, De Bruyne’s club teammate Jeremy Doku had a fairly uneventful evening as well.
The game’s most unlucky player was AS Roma’s Romelu Lukaku (on loan from Chelsea), who had 2 goals disallowed in the closing stages.
Slovakia only had one Premier League player involved, Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, who was the Man of the Match thanks to his 5 saves and the calm he inspired throughout his defence.
Ratings
Belgium: Timothy Castagne (Fulham) – 5; Wout Faes (Leicester City) – 7; Amadou Onana (Everton) – 7; Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 6.5; Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) – 5.5; Jeremy Doku (Manchester City) – 5.5
Slovakia: Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle) – 8.5
Click here for more highlights and reactions.
Austria 0-1 France
In the last game of the day, France rose to the challenge and proved their pedigree with an all-business win over Austria, thanks to an own goal by former Leeds United player Maximilian Wöber. It was a game that saw plenty of blood, with Antoine Griezmann suffering a cut to his head and Kylian Mbappe coming off with a broken nose.
It was a game that saw very little EPL representation, since Austria have no Premier League players in their EURO 2024 squad, and France only called upon William Saliba for this one.
The Arsenal centre-back handled most threats without much fuss, helping to limit the Austrians’ forays forward and keeping things ticking in possession when building attacks.
Ratings:
Austria: N/A
France: William Saliba (Arsenal) – 7
For highlights and reactions, click here.