The good news for England is that they are by no means the only much-fancied nation to be struggling for rhythm and fluency in these early stages of the European Championship. France have had their issues too, as have Italy and Holland.
We can now add Belgium to the list of qualified teams who have largely underwhelmed in the group stages. Belgium, like England, are currently less than the sum of their parts. This goalless draw with Ukraine featured brief flashes of quality, mostly from Kevin De Bruyne, but nothing sustained and nothing of any real note.
Much like England, Belgium are also struggling to earn the faith and support of their fans. There were extraordinary scenes at the final whistle here, as the Belgium fans booed and whistled furiously towards their own players. Rather than walking towards those supporters, De Bruyne urged his team to head for the tunnel.
The price of Belgium’s stodginess was a second-placed finish in Group E, behind Romania. As a result, they now find themselves on the more treacherous side of the draw, with France their opponents in the round of 16. It is not where they want to be, and clearly not where their fans want them to be, either.
In a group featuring Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine, Belgium were expected to cruise through. Instead they have won just once, against Romania, and have experienced serious difficulties in defeat by Slovakia and in this draw in Stuttgart.
As Ukraine chased a late winner, Belgium were even on the brink of being knocked out of the competition altogether. If their goalkeeper, Koen Casteels, had not scrambled the ball off the line in the 83rd minute, they would have been on the next flight out of Germany. Ruslan Malinovskyi’s corner was just an inch away from crossing the line.
By that stage, Ukraine were pushing for the goal they desperately needed in order to remain in the competition. It was not to be for Serhiy Rebrov’s team, as the draw elsewhere between Romania and Slovakia had left all four teams on four points. Ukraine’s shock 3-0 defeat by Romania, in their opening game, had wrecked their goal difference beyond repair.
Watch: De Bruyne targeted with lasers
Belgium’s match against Ukraine at Euro 2024 was briefly interrupted after De Bruyne stopped the game to complain to the referee that laser pointers were being shone in his eyes.