Slovakia 1-1 Romania: Razvan Marin's first-half equaliser sees Tricolorii top Group E ahead of Belgium and qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time in 24 years

• Both sides came into the clash knowing a draw would be enough to qualify
• Romania topped Group E that saw all four sides finish level on four points 
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Slovakia and Romania secured the draw that both knew would be enough to see them through to the Euro 2024 knockout stages, though to their credit, each tried their best to disprove any conspiracists crying collusion before a ball was kicked.

Most of this match was played with a competitive edge, the final 10 minutes being the exemption when the fear of a loss seemingly seeped into the players' minds. Wary of tumbling out of the tournament, it was then that this contest suddenly resembled walking football, the ball even being taken into the corner to protect this score draw.

There was joy and jubilation all around at the full-time whistle, with Ukraine the unlucky nation of the four in Group E to exit, despite all finishing on the same points.

Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona had refused to entertain such nonsensical noise surrounding a gentlemen's agreement with Romania, insisting they would only try to win.

It is in Calzona's native Italy where the word 'biscotto' is used to describe a situation where two opponents arrive at a beneficial result at the expense of a third party, originating from the Latin for 'twice-cooked'. At Euro 2004, the Italians were eliminated at the group stage unbeaten with five points, the same total as Sweden and Denmark. 

The Swedes and Danes advanced because their 2-2 draw in the last game left them both above Italy - much to the satisfaction of one supporter holding a homemade sign reading: '2-2 = Nordic victory! Bye bye Italia.'

The Waldstadion in Frankfurt was full of Romanian fans, outnumbering their Slovakian counterparts, and as Calzona promised, a game of competitive football emerged.

In the 10th minute, several Slovakian players crossed their arms at a corner, as if West Ham supporters. It was a signal for the out-swinging cross to be curled towards the penalty spot, where Milan Skriniar fired a volley into the stands. In the 11th, the blue-haired Andrei Rațiu nicknamed 'Sonic' forced Martin Dubravka into a diving save before Ianis Hagi fired over the rebound.

It was end to end, with a crossed free-kick from Lukas Haraslin evading David Hancko, Skriniar and Juraj Kucka as the ball bounced through the Romanian box. Yet Slovakia did take the lead in the 24th minute when Kucka's cross set up Ondrej Duda – the Hellas Verona midfielder with 'work hard' tattooed on one knee and 'play hard' on the other – to head home.

In the 34th minute, Hancko tripped Hagi on the edge of the box. German referee Daniel Siebert awarded the free-kick initially, but VAR Bastian Dankert upgraded the punishment to a penalty after noticing the challenge continued into the area. Razvan Marin stepped up, and equalised emphatically into the top-left corner for 1-1.

At half-time, Group E showed four teams on four points, Ukraine out of Euro 2024 as it stood. At the start of the second half, Haraslin stung the palms of Florin Nita, before Marin returned the favour to Dubravka, as the heavens opened in Frankfurt. 

Even Thor wanted to see if this would end in a draw, it seemed, as thunder became the soundtrack for the closing stages of this showdown.

Slovakia came closest when Haraslin sent a curler towards the far corner as the downpour turned the pitch into a swamp, but by the end, you knew where this one was going. At full-time, both celebrated wildly, with Romania topping the group and Slovakia finishing third.