Group E Favorites Belgium Take on Slovakia
Euro 2024: Belgium vs Slovakia Preview, Betting Odds
De Bruyne, Lukaku Still Around for New Look Belgium
The days of Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Dries Mertens may be over but Belgium still have a talented roster heading into Euro 2024. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku will be key for Domenico Tedesco’s side, who open up vs. Slovakia on Monday.
Slovakia are in their third straight European Championship but they’ve never gone past the Round of 16 as an independent nation. In our Belgium vs Slovakia preview, we’ll go through the team news and latest odds for this Euro 2024 Group E opener.
Belgium vs Slovakia
Date & Time: Monday, June 17th, 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
Belgium vs Slovakia Head-to-Head
Belgium vs Slovakia previews note that this is the first-ever competitive meeting between Belgium and Slovakia. They’ve met three times previously, which were all friendlies. They last met in 2013, and Belgium came away with a 2-1 victory. The other two matches ended in 1-1 draws.
Belgium Unbeaten Under Tedesco
The biggest omission from the Belgium national football team’s Euro 2024 squad is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Courtois recovered from an ACL injury late in the 2023-24 season and started the Champions League Final for winners Real Madrid. Amid a fallout with coach Domenico Tedesco, Koen Casteels is expected to start in goal for the Red Devils. Without Courtois, Belgium still have an excellent shot to make a run.
Their success is predicated on the Kevin De Bruyne-Romelu Lukaku connection. In qualifiers, the polarizing Lukaku led the competition, with 14 goals. De Bruyne also returned from an injury earlier this year and he’s been at his creative best recently.
Lukaku, Belgium’s star striker, is likely to be flanked by Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard. Lois Openda also scored 24 goals for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga this season and is another excellent option to relieve Lukaku. While Belgium’s attack is exciting, their defense is a bit of a question mark.
Jan Vertonghen is 37 years old and Wout Faes and Arthur Theate don’t have much experience at the international level. Regardless, Belgium haven’t lost any of their 14 matches played under Tedesco. Belgium went 6-2-0 and finished first in the Group F UEFA Euro qualifiers standings. They’re also -225 favorites to win Group E.
Slovakia Lacking Big Name Striker
Slovakia, along with Albania and Georgia, have the longest odds to win UEFA Euro 2024. Francesco Calzona’s side sit at +50000 odds to be crowned champions and Slovakia have never won more than one game at a major tournament. There’s certainly a chance Slovakia can go through to the Knockout Stage, in a group with Belgium, Ukraine and Romania.
Apart from two one-goal losses to Portugal, Slovakia went unbeaten in qualifiers. They finished in second place in the Group J UEFA Euro 2024 standings in qualifiers to automatically advance to this stage. Lukas Haraslin led Slovakia with three goals but this is a team without a big name striker. In defense, David Hancko and Milan Skriniar are excellent players.
The midfield will likely consist of Ondrej Duda, Juraj Kucka and Stanislav Lobotka. Lobotka was instrumental in Napoli’s Serie A title win in 2022-23 and he’s a well-rounded midfielder. Up front, Robert Bozenik should be their number nine, with Tomas Suslov and Haraslin on the wings. Expect Slovakia to make life hard for their opponents.
Belgium vs Slovakia Match Analysis & Odds
Belgium are certainly the better team on paper here and they’ll look to continue their unbeaten streak under Domenico Tedesco. The Red Devils are one-goal favorites and Belgium -1 comes in at -130 odds. Bettors can also take Belgium to win at -205 odds. Slovakia, who have never beaten Belgium, are +570 underdogs for this one.
While Slovakia have an industrious midfield, Belgium’s Amadou Onana could be one of their key players for this match. The box-to-box midfielder will have a lot to do and he’s also rumored to be leaving Everton this Summer, so he’ll want to impress.
Our Belgium vs Slovakia preview notes a draw is priced at +345. Meanwhile, Slovakia +1 sits at even odds and their only multi-goal loss in the last two years was a 2-0 friendly loss to Austria in March. Over 2.5 goals show -130 odds and we think there could be quite a few goals in this game.
