Kevin De Bruyne inspired Belgium to the first Euro 2024 victory they desperately required with a virtuoso display in a thrilling victory over Romania in Cologne. Belgium were under pressure after an opening loss to Slovakia but responded emphatically after Youri Tielemans scored after 73 seconds. De Bruyne added a second 11 minutes from time to put the result beyond doubt.
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Portugal booked their place in the last 16 as group winners at Euro 2024 following a routine victory over Turkey in Dortmund. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring midway through the first half, striking first time past goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. A calamitous own goal doubled Portugal’s lead before the break with Bruno Fernandes putting the icing on the cake after the restart.
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European Championship newcomers Georgia held the Czechia to a 1-1 draw Saturday, taking a shock lead through a Georges Mikautadze penalty before an equaliser off the chest of Patrik Schick. Saba Lobjanidze could have won it for Georgia at the death but blazed his shot over the bar after a breakaway and both sides, with one point from two games, need a win in their final Group F match to progress to the knockout stages.
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Xavi Simons had a second-half goal controversially ruled out as the Netherlands and France played out the first goalless draw of Euro 2024. The French started without Kylian Mbappe after he broke his nose in the win against Austria on Monday and they clearly missed their captain as they failed to take a number of chances. But it will be the Netherlands who will feel most aggrieved at not claiming the three points after Simons’ strike was chalked off.
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Austria earned their first win of Euro 2024 as Christoph Baumgartner’s fine second-half finish helped them to a 3-1 victory against Poland in Berlin. Gernot Trauner headed Austria into an early lead but Poland responded through Krzysztof Piatek. However Poland could not press on to find the win they needed, losing out to Baumgartner’s strike and a late penalty from Marko Arnautovic.
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