BORING Belgium’s stars were forced into retreat at the final whistle as they faced mutiny from their own fans.
An abject display in which they only just avoided exit and huge embarrassment by the narrowest of margins ended in open defiance by vast numbers of travelling supporters.
Captain Kevin de Bruyne had to lead his team-mates into the dressing room when they hit a wall of verbal protest as they walked over to acknowledge the crowd.
The jeers grew louder when the Manchester City forward was named Man of the Match.
It follows less than 24 hours after England were barracked by their supporters in the wake of an identical result against lowly Slovenia.
Belgium finished second in Group E and now meet France on Monday for a place in the quarter finals.
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But they failed to press home their superiority on paper and almost came a cropper in the closing minutes against limited opponents.
Ukraine sub Ruslan Malinovskyi spotted a gap at the near post as he sized up to take a corner.
Instead of planting a traditional cross into the box he went for goal and almost got one.
Belgium keeper Koen Casteels had to make an emergency save and parry the ball clear when it was halfway over his line.
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It summed up the lethargic approach by Belgium who lost their opening game to Slovakia and are facing similar issues to those dogging England.
De Bruyne in particular cut an increasingly frustrated figure as the game wore on.
But he was as guilty as anyone for failing to secure what should have been a routine win and easy passage into the knockout stages.
And several times Ukraine broke through and had they enjoyed the kind of quality up front in the Belgian ranks would surely have won the match and claimed a momentous victory.
As it stands they ended up bottom of Group E and are heading out despite racking up four points from three group games.
Denmark, in England’s group, have progressed to the last 16 on only three.
Belgium managed four shots on target – but so did Sergei Rebrov’s soccer nomads who play home games in Poland because of their country’s war with Russia.
De Bruyne and his scattering of Premier League stars face a tougher test against France, although they have managed just two goals so far this Euros – and one of those was a penalty.
Who is Euro 2024’s sexiest star?
EURO 2024 has something for everyone from stunning goals, thrilling matches… and the continent’s biggest hunks, writes Jack Figg.
Several stars have lit up the group stages with their skills on the pitch – but others are also catching the eye for their looks.
But who is the sexiest?
Thankfully AI boffins have carried out an analysis on the facial attractiveness of all players at the tournament.
And it’s bad news for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions who are the fourth UGLIEST in the competition – one place below Scotland.
In fact it’s England’s group rivals Serbia who have fans swooning the most – boasting an average score of 77.90/100 with defender Strahinja Pavlovic deemed their most attractive.
While Turkey defender Mert Muldur has been ranked as the tournament’s BEST-LOOKING player.
But who is England’s sexiest star, and who makes the Euros’ hunkiest XI? Read our full story.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
