FRANKFURT: A thrilling finish to the EURO 2024 group stages is on the cards as eight teams battle it out from Group E and F today, with eyes on the last 16. In the four key contests lined up, Slovakia take on Romania while Ukraine play Belgium in Group E, before Czechia tackle Trkiye and Georgia take on Portugal in Group F. With the qualifying issues set to be resolved in Groups E and F - expect a tooth and nail battle. Slovakia vs Romania At 18.00 local time in Frankfurt (20.00 UAE), Slovakia will face Romania in Group E. Both Slovakia and Romania have experienced the highs and lows of this Euro group stage already and has everything to play for in the final group encounter. Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona is backing his "Cinderella team" - and is proud that they have reached this juncture still targeting the round of 16, sitting level on three points with the rest. Romania showed real promise on Matchday 1, and the 3-0 scoreline secured by that skilful counterattacking display keeps them in pole pos ition in the pool ahead of this litmus test of their potential. "Now it's time to see how powerful we are and how we will manage to overcome this moment," said coach Edward Iordanescu, while speaking to EURO 2024. Ukraine vs Belgium At 18.00 local time in Stuttgart (20.00 UAE), Ukraine will play Belgium in Group E. Ukraine and Belgium were much more like themselves on Matchday 2 when both nations put their first points on the board with rousing wins. If Ukraine can keep up the energy of winning against Slovakia and reproduce it on Wednesday, then anything is possible for the Blue and Yellows. The group standings show Ukraine bottom and Belgium second; however, these are the finest of margins. Chance conversion could be crucial in this instance, so Red Devils coach Domenico Tedesco may be asking his team to up their performance. Czechia vs Trkiye At 21.00 local time in Hamburg (23.00 UAE), Czechia will take on Trkiye in Group F. Czechia have a single point to show for their efforts at this tournament, s o there is a greater onus on Ivan Hašek's men than on Trkiye, currently in second place, to get the win here. Trkiye were bouncing after their opening Group F win against Georgia, but lost some of that spring in the ensuing defeat by Portugal. Still, the youthful Turkish camp remains positive and confident. Georgia vs Portugal At 21.00 local time in Gelsenkirchen (23.00 UAE), Georgia will face Portugal in Group F. There is a prevailing satisfaction for Georgia and Portugal entering this climactic night of group stage action. Giorgi Mamardashvili's goalkeeping heroics made sure of Georgia's first-ever EURO point at the weekend, in a game where a last-gasp chance of victory went begging. Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia said, 'We want to make progress and will try to use our chance against Portugal.' Roberto Martínez is the one coach sitting comfortably after Portugal added Trkiye to their list of scalps, winning the group. He has the luxury of being able to juggle his squad ahead of a looming last-16 assignme nt; nevertheless, Martínez will strive to maintain the forward momentum, emphasising, "Being first in the group is very important. There are many players in the dressing room who deserve to play. We are growing game by game." Source: Emirates News Agency
