Slovakia engineered the inaugural surprise at Euro 2024, with Ivan Schranz propelling the underdogs to a 1-0 triumph over Belgium on Monday. Francesco Calzona's squad, positioned 45 places beneath Belgium in FIFA's global rankings, defied the perceived gulf in class with a valiant display in Frankfurt. Calzona, who also acted as Napoli's interim manager last season, had expressed his satisfaction with a draw. However, he was pleasantly surprised as Schranz, ending his nine-match international scoring drought, left Belgium stunned. Romelu Lukaku squandered numerous opportunities for Belgium and had a late equalizer controversially ruled out by VAR. Slovakia's unforeseen win has thrown Group E into disarray, shortly after Romania's 3-0 victory over Ukraine in the same group. This defeat was a harsh blow for Belgium, now at risk of underperforming in a major tournament once more. Belgium's once-lauded golden generation has faded since their early exit from the 2022 World Cup. The Red Devils have been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the last two European Championships, with their third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup marking the peak of their potential. Dominic Tedesco took over from Roberto Martinez in February 2023 and guided Belgium through a 14-game undefeated streak leading to the Euros. Prior to what was anticipated as the swansong for Belgium's seasoned players, Kevin De Bruyne had affirmed their readiness to achieve something significant in Germany. Yet, they faltered with a disjointed performance, now facing immense pressure to overcome Romania in their next group match on Saturday. In his 11th appearance at a major tournament, a Belgian record, Lukaku missed a clear scoring chance in the second minute. Jeremy Doku skillfully maneuvered past defenders and surged into the Slovakia penalty area, delivering a cross that De Bruyne directed towards Lukaku. Despite the clear opportunity, Lukaku's close-range shot was easily saved by Slovakia's keeper Martin Dubravka. Moments later, Lukaku again failed to capitalize on Doku's pass. Slovakia capitalized on Lukaku's missed chances, taking the lead in the seventh minute. Doku's errant pass led to Robert Bozenick's clever backheel to Juraj Kucka, whose shot was saved by Koen Casteels but Schranz scored from the rebound. Lukaku's frustrating night continued as he mishandled another chance from Yannick Carrasco's pass. Belgium's frustration mounted when Lukaku was denied by Dubravka's save in the 56th minute. From the ensuing corner, Amadou Onana headed the ball over Dubravka, and Lukaku tapped in, only to have his goal disallowed for offside by VAR. Belgium relentlessly attacked but were thwarted by Dubravka's saves and missed opportunities. In the 86th minute, Lukaku finally scored, but the goal was disallowed due to a handball by Lois Openda in the buildup.