Ukraine 0-0 Belgium: Player Ratings as Romelu Lukaku misfires once again for the Red Devils in dull draw | UEFA Euro 2024
Belgium were held to a 0-0 draw by Ukraine in their final Group E game in UEFA Euro 2024 on Wednesday, June 26. The result sees Belgium qualify for the knockouts as the second-placed side, while Ukraine were eliminated.
Belgium made a decent start to the game and dominated possession of the ball in the early exchanges. They looked much sharper than Ukraine and almost grabbed an early goal but Romelu Lukaku fluffed his lines from close-range. They had three more attempts in the first period but just one of those was on target.
Ukraine, on the other hand, threatened in bursts of quality play as they too created multiple chances in the second half. Ukraine attempted seven shots on goal and three were on target but they failed to find a way past Koen Casteels in Belgium's net. The two teams were deadlocked at 0-0 entering the half-time interval.
The second half began poorly for Ukraine as they lost Oleksandr Zinchenko to an injury as he was replaced by Vitaliy Mykolenko after 58 minutes. Belgium, too, made two changes early in the second half. However, despite creating several chances on both sides, there were just three shots on target from a combined 14 shots.
Belgium manager Domenico Tadesco seemed to have missed a trick as he brought on Lois Openda, but with just a couple of minutes left to play. The two teams tried their level best to alter the scoreline but Belgium seemed content with their draw and secured a 0-0 result.
On that note, let's take a look at the Red Devils' player ratings.
Belgium Player Ratings
Koen Casteels - 7.5/10
Casteels did well to keep his second clean sheet of these group games. He made four saves throughout the game and also passed the ball with 74% accuracy.
Timothy Castagne - 7.5/10
Castagne had a decent game in defence as he won two duels, making two clearances, one block and one tackle.
Wout Faes - 6.5/10
Faes had a decent game in central defence for Belgium. He won two duels and made two clearances and one interception.
Jan Vertonghen - 6.5/10
Vertonghen had a decent game and won three of his five aerial duels. He also made two clearances.
Arthur Theate - 6.5/10
Theate had a poor game defensively as he failed to win any of his five duels and was dispossessed 11 times. He also played one key pass.
Youri Tielemans - 6.5/10
Tielemans had a decent game as he passed the ball with 86% accuracy and also won one duel.
Amadou Onana - 7.5/10
Onana passed the ball with 93% accuracy, including one key pass. He also won four of his five duels, making two clearances and one interception.
Leandro Trossard - 6.5/10
Trossard passed the ball with 94% accuracy, including two key passes and one successful duel.
Kevin De Bruyne - 8/10
De Bruyne led this Belgium side from the front and passed the ball with 72% accuracy, including four key passes and one cross. He also won six duels and attempted two shots, of which one was on target.
Jeremy Doku - 7/10
Doku passed the ball with 87% accuracy, including one key pass. He also completed four dribble attempts and won seven duels.
Romelu Lukaku - 6.5/10
Lukaku had another disappointing effort as he failed to deliver yet again. He had just 18 touches of the ball despite playing the entire 90 minutes. He also attempted two shots on target but they were saved with ease.
Substitutes
Yannick Carrasco - 6.5/10
He replaced Trossard in the second half and put in a decent performance.
Orel Mangala - 6.5/10
He replaced Tielemans in the second half and had a decent outing.
Johan Bakayoko - 6.5/10
He came on with great energy but failed to translate it into action.
Lois Openda - N/A
He came on with very less time to play and hence did not do enough to warrant a rating.