Home Football Belgium’s New Scapegoat: Missed 3 Chances, Saw 2 Goals Disallowed by VAR, and Sealed Shock Defeat Against Slovenia Despite Being Tipped for Comfortable Win

Belgium’s New Scapegoat: Missed 3 Chances, Saw 2 Goals Disallowed by VAR, and Sealed Shock Defeat Against Slovenia Despite Being Tipped for Comfortable Win

Football — 06/18/2024

Romelu Lukaku became the “scapegoat” in Belgium’s shocking defeat on the opening day of Euro 2024.

The Belgian national team, led by coach Domenico Tedesco, suffered a 0-1 loss to Slovakia in their Group E opener. Despite being ranked 45 places higher than their opponents in the FIFA rankings, this result can be considered the biggest upset of the tournament so far.OneFootball on X: " 3'—Lukaku miss 6'—Lukaku miss ️ 55' - Lukaku scores 56' Goal disallowed (Offisde) Romelu Lukaku is beginning to wonder what he has done wrong to deserve

Lukaku, entrusted to lead Belgium’s attack, was one of the most talked-about individuals after the match. The 31-year-old striker failed to fully deliver, missing as many as three clear-cut chances and being unable to find the net even with only the opposing goalkeeper to beat.Lukaku struggled to make the most of clear-cut goalscoring opportunities in the first-half

In fact, Lukaku nearly “redeemed himself” by scoring twice for Belgium, but both goals were disallowed by VAR and the referee. In the 56th minute, his goal was ruled out for offside, while in the 86th minute, his strike was disallowed due to a handball by teammate Lois Openda in the build-up.Lukaku was one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the early exchanges of the matchThe 31-year-old also spurned this close-range effort after the ball was rolled into his path

According to the statistics, Lukaku became the first player to miss three “big chances” in a single match at a European Championship since Euro 2000. He also became the first player to have two goals disallowed by VAR in a major European tournament.