Euro 2024 Group Stage Preview: Group E

As well as fixtures, squad news and betting tips you can find the latest group and outright odds

Continuing our preview of the six Euro 2024 groups, we turn our attention to Group E where Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine are bidding to progress to the knockout stage from one of the more modest looking groups. As well as fixtures, squad news and betting tips you can find the latest group and outright odds from our partners at Unibet.

Belgium

Belgium qualified for a sixth successive major tournament by winning their qualifying group ahead of Austria and Sweden. The Belgians remained unbeaten throughout their eight qualifying games, winning six and drawing two whilst only Portugal boasted a better defensive record than Belgium. Since suffering a 2-0 defeat against Morocco in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, Belgium have since put together a 14-game unbeaten run.

Euro 2024 will signify the dawn of a new era for Belgium after their ‘golden generation’ failed to deliver any major silverware over the past decade. After a disastrous group stage exit at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and quarter-final losses at successive European Championship the likes of Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Toby Alderweireld have retired. The entire Belgian squad now has a completely new look to it. Captain Kevin de Bruyne remains instrumental in everything Belgium do whilst all-time record goal scorer Romelu Lukaku will want to add to his astonishing haul of 83 international goals. Lukaku was the top goalscorer across all groups in qualifying with a record-breaking 14 qualification stage goals and he is excellent value at 18/1 to win the Golden Boot in Germany.

Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku as well as Charles De Ketelaere and Johan Bakayoko of Atalanta and PSV Eindhoven respectively represent an exciting new generation of Belgian talent whilst the new head coach at Belgium is 38-year-old Italian Domenico Tedesco.

Slovakia

Slovakia qualified in second place behind Portugal, finishing ahead of the likes of Luxembourg, Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina and will now contest their third successive European Championships. Slovakia lost home and away to Portugal in qualification but boasted a record of seven wins and one draw in their other eight matches.

There will be one notable absentee from the Slovakian squad this summer as all-time record scorer and appearance holder Marek Hamsik announced his retirement at the end of the domestic football season. PSG’s Milan Skriniar brings a wealth of experience to the squad and will captain Slovakia in Germany. At the other end of the pitch Robert Bozenik is likely to start the tournament as Slovakia's first-choice centre forward however Robert Polievka is one to watch thanks to a return of 22 G/A in 27 matches in a struggling Dukla Banska Bystrica side in the Slovak First Football League.

Romania

Romania maintained their record of qualifying for every other European Championships since 2000 by overcoming the disappointment of missing out on a place at Euro 2020. Romania topped their qualification group as they remained unbeaten in a group that featured the likes of Switzerland, Israel and Belarus.

There aren’t too many household names in the Romanian squad although they are set to include Spurs defender Radu Dragusin, Ianis Hagi of Rangers and former Reading forward George Puscas. Valentin Mihaila and Dennis Man played a starring role in Parma’s promotion back to Serie A and could be key players for their country this summer.

Ukraine

Ukraine qualified for Euro 2024 by defeating Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland in the play-offs however they may count themselves unfortunate to have found themselves in the play-offs as they were pipped by Italy to second place behind England in the qualifying group. Both Ukraine and Italy finished on 14 points but it was Italy that took second place thanks to a superior head-to-head record.

Ukraine first played in the European Championships as an independent nation when they co-hosted the tournament back in 2012 and they have qualified for every edition of the tournament since. Ukraine warmed up for the tournament with a 0-0 against hosts Germany on Monday.

Artem Dovbyk finished as top goalscorer in La Liga this season as he netted 24 goals in 36 matches for surprise package Girona. The 26-year-old was equally prolific at former club Dnipro-1 and has now scored 62 goals in 83 league matches across the past three seasons. Dovbyk is likely to lead the line for Ukraine and will be a key player for them this summer.

Group E Fixtures & Odds

Romania v Ukraine

17th June | Munich

Belgium v Slovakia

17th June | Frankfurt

Slovakia v Ukraine

21st June | Dusseldorf

Belgium v Romania

22nd June | Cologne

Slovakia v Romania

26th June | Frankfurt

Ukraine v Belgium

26th June | Stuttgart

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