Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was criticised following Slovakia’s 2-1 defeat to Ukraine at Euro 2024.
After a memorable clean sheet and win over Belgium in their opening match, Slovakia and Dubravka suffered a blow as Ukraine came from behind to win in Dusseldorf.
Ivan Schranz gave Slovakia an early lead with his second goal of the tournament before second-half strikes from Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk saw Ukraine claim three points in Group E.
While Dubravka couldn’t do much to deny Ukraine’s equaliser, he was singled out for criticism by former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart after the match. The Newcastle shot-stopper was caught in two minds before allowing Yaremchuk’s tight-angled effort trickle past him. Hart said during BBC’s live broadcast: “That’s an incredible touch [from Yaremchuk], Dubravka has got to wait to see what he does.
“If the touch is big he can claim it so his thought process is, ‘can I come [for the ball]?’ No, you’d have to spear him waist-high.
“It’s a great touch but Dubravka is going to be really, really disappointed with what happens next. Once the ball is brought down, he’s 80/20 in his favour if he stands big but he ends up doing absolutely nothing really.”
Slovakia’s final group match is against Romania next Wednesday as they look to secure progression to the last-16.
Dubravka has been linked with replacing Hart as Celtic’s goalkeeper for the 2024-25 campaign. Hart has now retired from professional football while Dubravka is facing an uncertain future at Newcastle.
The Slovakian shot-stopper has been quizzed on his future while at Euro 2024 but has stressed his focus is on the national team for the time being.
“I don’t really know, and to be fair my mental state at the moment is to focus on my job here,” the Newcastle goalkeeper said after the win over Belgium. “I just want to enjoy this because this is huge for our country.
“We do not always qualify for tournaments like this, so I am trying to absorb all the energy.”
Dubravka said last week: “If I’m honest, I don’t care what happens anymore. I defended my place and did my best for [Newcastle].
“If they decide to bring someone else, I won’t influence it anymore.”
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