EURO 2024 daily preview 26 June: What to look out for on Wednesday

Expect drama when the final two groups conclude with all eight teams still focused on the last 16.

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Ukraine’s Mykola Shaparenko, Türkiye’s İsmail Yüksek, Georgia’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Romania’s Dennis Man

A thrilling climax to the group stage looks certain with qualifying issues set to be resolved in Groups E and F – and all eight teams set on extended stays at the tournament.

We preview the action in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Gelsenkirchen.

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18:00: Slovakia vs Romania (Group E, Frankfurt)
These two sides have experienced the highs and lows of this EURO group stage already with one to play. Romania’s exciting opening win against Ukraine caused a stir, followed by Slovakia upsetting Belgium. Both teams then lost on a Matchday 2 that levelled out the section. Even so, Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona is backing his “Cinderella team” – and is proud that they have reached this juncture still targeting the round of 16, sitting level on three points with the rest.

Romania showed real promise on Matchday 1, and the 3-0 scoreline secured by that skilful counterattacking display keeps them in pole position in the pool ahead of this litmus test of their potential. “Now it’s time to see how powerful we are and how we’ll manage to overcome this moment,” said coach Edward Iordănescu. The group permutations are many-sided but it’s fair to say that neither team will want to lose this crunch encounter.

Key stat: This is the first time in EURO finals history that all four teams in a group are level on points going into their last round of matches.

18:00: Ukraine vs Belgium (Group E, Stuttgart)
Ukraine and Belgium were much more like themselves on Matchday 2 when both nations put their first points on the board with rousing wins. For Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov, his side showed a completely different spirit to come from behind and defeat Slovakia. “You saw our mental strength,” explained midfielder Mykola Shaparenko. If they can bottle that character and reproduce it on Wednesday then anything is possible for the Blue and Yellows.

The group standings show Ukraine bottom and Belgium second; however, these are the finest of margins. Chance conversion could be crucial in this instance, so Red Devils coach Domenico Tedesco – breathing more easily with the oxygen of victory – may be asking his team to up theirs after an eye-catching performance against Romania that could have yielded more than just the two goals. “I think it was possible to score three, four or five goals,” he said. “We need to stay patient.”

Key stat: Romelu Lukaku has had three strikes disallowed at this tournament but remains Belgium’s all-time top EURO scorer on six goals.

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21:00: Czechia vs Türkiye (Group F, Hamburg)
Czechia have a single point to show for their efforts at this tournament, so there is a greater onus on Ivan Hašek’s men than on Türkiye, currently in second place, to get the win here. Arguably the Czechs should have more, considering Portugal only beat them at the death on Matchday 1, before Saturday’s second-half resurgence against Georgia lacked only a winning goal. “When you see how much heart the boys put into that game, you understand that we do not want to go home. We will fight for qualification,” said Hašek.

Türkiye were bouncing after their opening Group F win against Georgia, but lost some of that spring in the ensuing defeat by Portugal, albeit coach Vincenzo Montella believes they were punished harshly for a couple of mistakes. Nonetheless the mantra in this youthful Turkish camp remains a positive one: yes, they have to do better, but there is confidence that they can and will. Cue midfielder İsmail Yüksek: “If we are well organised, we can beat any team.”

Key stat: The 3-0 reversal against Portugal equalled Türkiye’s heaviest EURO finals defeat.

21:00: Georgia vs Portugal (Group F, Gelsenkirchen)
There is a prevailing satisfaction for Georgia and Portugal entering this climactic night of group stage action. Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goalkeeping heroics made sure of Georgia’s first-ever EURO point at the weekend, in a game where a last-gasp chance of victory went begging. Coach Willy Sagnol regards this roller-coaster campaign as a learning curve for his swashbuckling team: “Our aim was to get experience from this EURO.” However, qualification is not out of the question and winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia still aims to scale the heights, adding: “We want to make progress and will try to use our chance against Portugal.”

Roberto Martínez is the one coach sitting comfortably after Portugal added Türkiye to their list of scalps, winning the group. He has the luxury of being able to juggle his squad ahead of a looming last-16 assignment; nevertheless, Martínez will strive to maintain the forward momentum, emphasising: “Being first in the group is very important. There are many players in the dressing room who deserve to play. We are growing game by game.”

Key stat: Cristiano Ronaldo has extended his record of goal involvements in EURO history to 22: 14 goals and eight assists.