Slovakia stuns Belgium

Early goal stands as the winner after Lukaku twice denied by VAR review

- GRAHAM DUNBAR

Two Romelu Lukaku goals were ruled out by video review and Belgium fell to a stunning 1-0 loss to Slovakia in wild Group E at the European Championship on Monday.

Slovakia struck in the seventh minute through forward Ivan Schranz then survived a string of misses by Belgium record scorer Lukaku, whose two second-half goals were overturned after first being given by the match officials, and all that playmaker Kevin De Bruyne could create.

Slovakia's deserved win also was preserved by defender Dávid Hancko's brave goal-line block that left him sprawled in the netting with a face injury inflicted by a teammate's knee.

At the final whistle, the Slovaks danced in front of their fans in the crowd of 45,181 at the Waldstadion as their choice of victory music, the modern soccer anthem "Freed From Desire," boomed out.

"This win means a lot not just for me but the whole Slovak nation," said midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, who was named player of the game. "Maybe not everyone has believed in us."