In the first match of Group E at Euro 2024, Romania defeated Ukraine by a score of 3-0, making it only the second time in their history that they have captured victory at a European Championship.
This encounter will be remembered in Romanian mythology for a number of wonderful moments that occurred at the other end of the pitch. The Tricolors took admirable delight in their defense throughout the duration of the 90 minutes, which allowed them to keep the abilities of Mykhaylo Mudryk and Artem Dovbyk at bay.
Nicolae Stanciu, the captain of Romania, scored his country’s first goal at the Allianz Arena. The goal sent the sea of yellow shirts behind the goal into delirium as their team attempted to improve their meagre 6% winning rate at the European Championship. However, Ukraine’s passing out from the back was not particularly impressive.
Once again, the Triclours doubled their lead on a long-range effort that squirmed under Andriy Lunin’s body. Lunin, coming off a good campaign with Real Madrid, was completely out of character. The Triclours were able to double their lead thanks to Edward Iordanescu’s impressive long-range efforts, which persisted throughout the second session.
Denis Dragus, a lone striker for Romania, scored his first goal competitively on the international stage by tapping it in following a brilliant short-corner routine by Stanciu, a star player in the Saudi Pro League, and Dennis Man. Not long after that, Romania secured a valuable three points by utilizing the feet of Denis Dragus.
throughout the early stages of the match at the Allianz Arena, Ukraine took control of the competition as they pressured and probed a Romanian squad that was defensively sound throughout qualification, allowing only five goals in ten matches. Ukraine was looking for only its fourth victory at the European Championships, which they achieved at the 12th attempt.
Despite the fact that Iordanescu may be criticized for his conservative approach, the tenacity of his players during the first period was admirable. Players such as Radu Dragusin, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, Andrei Burca, and Marius Marin, who plays for the midfield, were the ones who demonstrated the characteristics of a team that enjoys engaging in a physical battle.
It was an individual press from Razvan Marin that kicked off a chain reaction that allowed the Triclours to take the lead in the competition. This caused their fervent supporters at the home of Bayern Munich to go into hysterical fits. The Triclours had been relatively inactive in the first thirty minutes of the match without the ball.
The Empoli player compelled the Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin to make a weak clearance, which was then intercepted by Man. Man then passed the ball into the path of Stanciu on the edge of the box, and without even looking at the Ukrainian goal, Romania’s captain fantastically blasted a sweeping attempt into the top-left corner of the net.
The 31-year-old international player’s goal was sufficient to give Iordanescu’s team a one-goal lead at the half. However, the multiple blocks made by Dragusin and Burca at center back were equally as essential in Romania’s attempt to begin the second session with a lead.
After failing to register a shot on their opponents’ net during the first half of the match, and after star striker Dovbyk was bullied out of the match, Sergiy Rebrov’s team needed a promising start to the second half of the match. However, things were about to get significantly worse for the team that was going to be the quarter-finalists in the Euro 2020 tournament.
After Dragus had done a fantastic job of holding up the ball, Andrei Ratiu, a blue-haired whippet from Romania, sprinted down the right flank on the counterattack. The Rayo Vallecano defender found the feet of Man, who eventually lost possession of the ball after running into traffic in the middle of the field.
The danger for Ukraine was nothing near its conclusion, though, as the loose ball dribbled towards the onrushing Razvan Marin, who blasted a low-driven strike from beyond the box, with the effort bouncing off the soil and sliding underneath of the attentions of Lunin.
The supporters of the Tricolors would have been forgiven for pinching themselves in disbelief at their side’s exuberant attacking display, as they had failed to find the back of the net in their friendlies against Bulgaria and Liechtenstein prior to their trip to the Allianz Arena. Romania was able to extend their advantage even further just before the hour mark.
Parma winger Man waltzed into the Ukraine box and slid past the tackle of one defender after playing a beautiful one-two with skipper Stanciu from a short corner. The 25-year-old picked up his second assist of the afternoon when Dragus tapped home from close range following a low cross. Man’s goal was the second of his career.
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