Ukraine vs Belgium Prediction: Belgium to win but both teams likely to score

On Wednesday at Stuttgart Arena, Ukraine will play Belgium in the third round of the group round of the 2024 Germany UEFA European Championship. In their last group stage match on June 21, Ukraine defeated Slovakia 2-1 to win the competition for the first time this year. Roman Yaremchuk and Mykola Shaparenko scored goals in the victory. They have four wins, one tie, and two losses in their seven games this season.

In their final group stage match of the campaign, Belgium defeated Romania 2-0 on June 22 at Cologne Stadium to win the trophy for the first time this year. Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans both scored goals in the victory. They have three wins, two draws, and one loss in 2024.

Level on three points, Belgium and Ukraine are ranked second and fourth in the group, respectively. Ukraine is presently in a position to be eliminated, while Belgium is scheduled to play in the Round of 16. Romania leads the group with three points and is in a strong position to move on to the Round of 16. Slovakia, now ranked third with three points, is still vying for a spot in the Round of 16.

In the Euro 2024 competition, Shaparenko and Yaremchuk have drawn attention from Ukraine. With one goal apiece, the two are tied for the team lead in scoring. Tielemans and De Bruyne, who have each scored once in this Euro 2024 campaign, have Belgium grateful.

Ukraine has completed six games across all competitions with three wins, one draw, and two losses. In that span, the Ukrainian team scored nine goals and let up eight, winning one of the six games. While their opponents scored six goals in the first forty-five minutes, they had three goals in the first half. In their last six games, the Belgian team has won three, drawn two, and lost one. Over that span, the Belgian team scored nine goals and gave up three, scoring first in four of the six games. While their opponents scored twice before halftime, the majority of their goals—five—came in the first half.

On the last matchday of Euro 2024 Group E, anything is still possible as all four teams have three points from their first two games, which is a record for the Championships. However, the Ukrainians are currently bottom of the table due to a lower goal differential. Ivan Schranz scored for Slovakia in just his second game, and Ukraine looked set to lose their Euro adventure early after leaking three goals to the Romanians, a miserable encounter that saw Real Madrid's Andriy Lunin lose his spot in goal for matchday two.

Mykola Shaparenko levelled the score, though, with a cool finish after Oleksandr Zinchenko's cross. Roman Yaremchuk's over-hit pass to Mykhaylo Mudryk cost Ukraine a great opportunity, but he more than made up for it in the 80th minute with a superb touch and finish to complete the comeback. With their impressive comeback, the Blue and Yellow are still in the running for a last-16 spot. Their formula is straightforward: if they win, they'll be ranked in the top two, and if they outperform Romania, they could even take first place in the section and earn all three points.

Alternatively, a draw would suffice for third - and potentially a last-16 path - if there is a winner in Romania's clash with Slovakia, and even defeat may not prove fatal if the latter team also suffer defeat, but Rebrov's men will not concern themselves with such complicated number-crunching here.

Romelu Lukaku, the all-time leading scorer for Belgium, will never be able to put the ball in the back of the net at Euro 2024, no matter how hard he tries. While the Red Devils' shocking opening loss to Slovakia did not save his blushes, things were different on Saturday.

Youri Tielemans' well-executed goal in the 73rd minute—the fastest goal the Belgian men's team has ever scored at a major tournament—put Domenico Tedesco's team ahead against Romania. Kevin De Bruyne scored the second goal after Koen Casteels' punt forward went all the way through.

There were sighs of relief around as De Bruyne effectively sealed Belgium's crucial victory in Cologne, moving the Red Devils up to second position in the division and giving them confidence that they only need to win on Wednesday to secure a spot in the knockout stage. If they win and Slovakia only draws or loses to Romania, they will take first position; but, if they lose and Romania earns at least one point, they will be doomed to another miserable group-stage exit, following a similar fate at the 2022 World Cup.

Tedesco's team should be hopeful that they can avoid suffering the same fate as they did in Qatar when they play Ukraine in a senior men's international on Wednesday. The shocking loss to Slovakia was their only defeat in their last 17 games across all competitions.

Though their wastefulness did not cost them against Romania, Belgium has been guilty of passing up opportunity after opportunity in their first two games. Despite this, they have never had an issue creating a lot of chances.

Tedesco's team should emerge victorious against a porous Ukraine defense that frequently had Trubin to thank in their match against Slovakia. This will allow them to punch their legitimate ticket to the knockout stages and leave Rebrov's team anxiously awaiting word on their fate.