Lukaku's misses in the game between Belgium and Slovakia on June 17, 2024.
Lukaku had a disappointing performance against Slovakia, missing three clear opportunities in the first half. In the first five minutes, Lukaku's shot hit goalkeeper Martin Dubravka at close range with his clumsy ball control.
In the 42nd minute, the Chelsea striker wasted a similar opportunity. After receiving a long pass from Yannick Carrasco, Lukaku controlled the ball and tried to dribble past goalkeeper Dubravka (pictured), but was clumsy again and let the ball go out of line. In the second half, in addition to the two goals denied by technology, Lukaku also failed to score twice from shooting chances inside the box.
In the 56th minute, Leandro Trossard cross the ball to the far post for Amadou Onana to head the pass to Lukaku, who finished into the empty net.
The 31-year-old striker quickly picked the ball up because he was sure of his goal. Previously, Slovakia led 1-0 from the seventh minute thanks to Ivan Schranz's tap-in.
The semi-automatic offside detection technology confirmed that Lukaku was standing under Slovakia’s defense.
In the 86th minute, Lois Openda with a cross from the left flank assisted Lukaku to get a one-touch finish into the net and beat goalkeeper Dubravka.
Lukaku once again picked up the ball and shared the joy with his teammates. Coach Dominico Tedesco ran wildly across the touchline, but Belgium was once again denied a goal because of technology.
After consulting VAR, referee Umut Meller found out that Openda used his hands to control the ball before making the pass. To accurately identify whether or not the ball has touched Openda’s hands, the referee relies on Snickometer technology, which was used for the first time at Euro 2024.
The Euro 2024 match ball is equipped with a motion sensor microchip that can track every touch at a speed of 500 vibrations per second. The chip embedded in the ball combined with snickometer technology can accurately determine whether a player at Euro 2024 touches the ball or is offside.
Besides Lukaku, Belgium attackers also did not have a good day. Leandro Trossard (number 9) was also in poor form when he shot over the bar when facing Dubravka in the first half, then squandered the chance at the beginning of the second half from Lukaku's pass.
Man City star Jeremy Doku (number 22) made a wrong pass and allowed Ivan Schranz to score the only goal for Slovakia in the seventh minute.
Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne had four key passes and created a great opportunity but his teammates were unable to convert them.
According to Opta, Belgium failed to score from the last 47 shots at the World Cup and Euro, including 11 clear chances. In the 2022 World Cup, it was Lukaku's incompetence that made Belgium fail to beat Croatia in the final game of the group stage and exit the tournament early.
Euro highlights: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia
