Ivan Schranz's strike in the seventh minute secured a historic 1-0 win for Slovakia over Belgium in their opening game of Group E at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt.
Despite Belgium having the better chances throughout the first half with Jérémy Doku causing havoc amongst the Slovak defence, Slovakia were great value for their first half lead as they outclassed Domenico Tedesco's men.
Francesco Calzona's side looked comfortable on the ball when in possession and pressed the Belgians relentlessly when out of possession as The Red Devils were left frustrated.
Their frustration was only worsened in the second half as Romelu Lukaku had two goals disallowed, with the second being ruled out due to a controversial handball call given against substitute Loïs Openda.
However, Belgium just weren't clinical enough in front of goal on the day and Slovakia were able to hold on and secure one of the biggest upsets in the history of the European Championships.
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Story of the Match
Of the 11 players Tedesco named as starters against Slovakia, only four of them started in Belgium's final game at the 2022 World Cup - a 0-0 draw against Croatia which subsequently saw The Red Devils crash out of the tournament at the Group Stage.
Thomas Meunier was the only player to miss out through injury, with Yannick Carrasco - usually deployed as a winger - coming into the side at left-back.
As for Slovakia, they named the same starting 11 that secured a convincing 4-0 win over Wales in their final pre-tournament warm-up match in Trnava.
Despite there being 45 places between the two teams in the FIFA world rankings, Slovakia won seven of their 10 qualifying matches en route to EURO 2024 and came into the match confident that they could potentially get a result.
That confidence was tested in the early stages with Belgium and as expected, they started fast. Doku showcased his frightening skill set in the opening five minutes of the game, picking the ball up inside his own half and riding a number of challenges down the right-hand side.
Lukaku found himself on the end of two brilliant pieces of play from Doku, however on both occasions was wasteful in front of goal and failed to trouble Martin Dúbravka.
Despite Belgium's quick start to the match, they were made to pay for their early missed chances as Slovakia took a surprise lead in the seventh minute.
Doku found himself with the ball on the edge of his own penalty area and played a loose pass across the face of his own goal which was intercepted by Schranz.
The Slavia Prague forward played a lovely flick into the path of Juraj Kucka who had his shot was saved by Koen Casteels, but the keeper could only parry the ball back into the path of Schranz who slotted home from close range to put his side ahead.
Once Slovakia got into the lead, they began to settle into the game and didn't seem overawed by the occasion one bit.
Dúbravka suffered a scare on the 20 minute mark as he was closed down by Kevin De Bruyne whilst in possession and gave the ball away cheaply to Leandro Trossard, but the Arsenal winger's attempted lob from long-range sailed over the crossbar.
Despite Belgium having the better chances in the opening half-hour of the match, Slovakia had more possession, looked comfortable on the ball and were pressing Belgium high up the pitch when out of possession.
Slovakia then almost doubled their lead five minutes before half-time when Lukáš Haraslín hit a crisp volley from the edge of the penalty area, but Casteels produced a sharp save with his left hand to deny the Sparta Praha forward.
Belgium finished the half with one final half-chance as Lukaku found himself through on goal after a lovely ball over the top of the defence from Carrasco, however the striker took too many touches and couldn't get the ball under control as the chance fizzled out.
With Belgium going into the break a goal down, and inspiring half-time team talk was needed from Tedesco if he was to get a reaction from his players in the second half.
The Red Devils had won all of their last three opening matches at major tournament by and aggregate score of 7-0, however that streak was under real threat in Frankfurt.
Second half
Belgium made a positive start to the second half and thought they scored the equalising goal in the 56th minute when Amadou Onana's header from a short corner found Lukaku, who was on hand to tap the ball into an open goal from close range.
However after a VAR review, the striker was judged to have been offside and the goal was subsequently ruled out, much to his frustration.
Tedesco had to change things up with the game slipping away from Belgium, and he did just that when he brought on Johan Bakayoko who joined the attack whilst De Bruyne played a slightly deeper role with Orel Mangala making way.
The substitution almost had an immediate impact as Bakayoko found himself with a chance to shoot from six yards out, but saw his effort cleared off the line brilliantly by Dávid Hancko who took a knee to the face for his troubles.
With 20 minutes to play, it was one-way traffic with Belgium pushing for an equaliser and Slovakia defending their slender lead resolutely.
Tedesco threw one last roll of the dice when he brought on attacking duo Dodi Lukebakio and Openda for the final five minutes, and it looked as though it had payed off when Openda set up Lukaku for what appeared to be the equalising goal Belgium were craving with just four minutes left of the 90 minutes, with there still being time for a winning goal.
However after another agonising VAR check, Lukaku had his second goal of the game ruled out as Openda was judged to have handled the ball in the build up, much to the relief of the thousands of Slovakia fans in the crowd.
Tedesco's men pushed for the leveller deep into stoppage time and whilst Slovakia had played some fantastic football throughout the match, their backs were against the wall as the clock ticked down.
Despite the late surge from Belgium, The Sokoli were able to hold on and caused a seismic upset. In doing so, they have given their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, a huge boost as they get set to face Ukraine on Friday.
Player of the Match - Stanislav Lobotka
There were a number of memorable performances for Slovakia in the win, however Stanislav Lobotka stood out in the middle of the park.
He was the metronome for Slovakia and struck a great partnership with Ondrej Duda in midfield as they kept things tidy and worked their socks off when out of possession.
With Slovakia bravely opting to play out from the back against a star-studded Belgian side, Lobotka was key in enabling Calzona's men to do this and was a real calming presence in what was no doubt a nerve-racking environment for his teammates.
He's been linked with moves to Barcelona in recent seasons, and it was clear to see why today given his calmness on the ball and his impressive range of passing.
