In what is considered the biggest upset in the history of the European Football Championships, Slovakia stunned Belgium 1-0 on Monday. In a game that was played in Frankfurt, Germany, Slovakia moved into second place in the Group E standings with the win.
Putting the upset into perspective
Slovakia’s chances of beating Belgium prior to the game were at +600. Slovakia was ranked 48th in the world, while Belgium was at number three. According to Joe Mewis of FourFourTwo.com, the 45 position difference in the world rankings, was the largest difference we have ever seen where the underdog eventually was victorious in the match. It was also Belgium’s first loss in 15 games. They won 10 games and had four draws since losing 2-0 to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
What was the previous record?
You don’t have to go very far in history to look back at the previous record of 44 places. At Euro 2020 on June 12, 2021, Finland beat Denmark 1-0 in Copenhagen. At the time, Denmark was ranked 10th and Finland was ranked 54th.
Who scored for Slovakia?
The Slovakian star was forward Ivan Schranz of Bratislava, who plays for Slavia Prague. It was Schranz’s fourth career goal for Slovakia. The only other time Schranz has scored in a Slovakia win came on September 7, 2021 in a 2-0 Slovakia win over Cyprus in 2022 World Cup qualification. Schranz, in fact, scored the game-winning goal.
Romania’s minor upset win over Ukraine
Romania clobbered Ukraine 3-0 in Munich despite the fact Ukraine is ranked 22nd in the world, and Romania is ranked 46th. Romania had goals from attacking midfielder Nicolae Stanciu in the 29th minute, defensive midfielder Razvan Marin in the 53rd minute, and forward Denis Dragus in the 57th minute. Meanwhile, France beat Austria 1-0 to close out the day. The lone French goal came on an Austrian own goal.
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