Martin Dubravka’s shocking announcement puts Slovakia’s progress in jeopardy.

Martin Dubraka had the opportunity to be the first Newcastle United player to go to the knockout stages of the 2024 European Championship.

After a shocking 1-0 victory against Belgium in their first encounter, Slovakia knew that a win over Ukraine on Friday afternoon would guarantee their place in the last 16.

A point would very definitely suffice, with one game remaining.

Everything was going according to plan, with Slovakia by much the superior squad and Schranz following up his winner against Belgium with the opening headed goal against Ukraine on 17 minutes.

Slovakia went on to have numerous more chances in the first half that could/should have ended the game, with Ukraine making the occasional break and Martin Dubravka making the occasional solid save, but Slovakia won by a large margin.

A bit of a game of two halves, as Ukraine came out with purpose, and some bad marking allowed an unmarked Shaparenko to equalize when the ball was squared, leaving Dubravka with little chance.

The second half continued in the same vein, with Ukraine now clearly the better and more dangerous squad.

However, as the game progressed, it appeared that the game would end in a 1-1 tie, which would be ideal for Slovakia and likely enough to advance them to the round of 16.
Then, with 10 minutes remaining, striker Shaparenko’s wonderful ball was put into the path of Yaremchuk, who was sprinting into the area, and he had a great first touch as it sank, but all he could do was touch it again as it trickled towards goal. Commentators and pundits praised it, but Martin Dubravka’s statement surprised me. He was in a decent position, and when the ball was thrown over the top, if he had come to meet it, I think it would have been almost impossible for the goal to be scored, although even

After backing off, he should have blocked the shot because there was so little for the attacker to aim at, but Martin Dubravka made himself smaller rather than bigger, which was all that was required to save it. Unfortunately, a goal that clearly encapsulates why Dubravka’s time at Newcastle United is undoubtedly over; Nick Pope would never have conceded that goal.

Tonight’s match is between Belgium and Romania, and the group is now evenly balanced, with Romania, Ukraine, and Slovakia all on three points each. It will be quite fascinating if Belgium wins tonight, leaving four of them with three points going into their last games on Wednesday – Slovakia against Romania and Belgium v Ukraine.

Newcastle United players are on international duty:

Saturday, 15 June

Switzerland 3, Hungary 1 (Euros Group match)

The Newcastle United defender had an excellent personal effort, playing the entire 90 minutes as Switzerland defeated Hungary.