Romania defeated Ukraine 3-0 in the opening match of Group E of Euro 2024, with captain Nicolae Stanciu scoring a goal for the tournament contender in Munich.
Edward Iordanescu’s side came into this festival with a reputation for missing goals (they scored just 16 goals in 10 qualifiers), but they controlled three on a memorable afternoon in Bavaria.
Stanciu opened the scoring in surprising fashion by taking advantage of the first of two mistakes by Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to complete a delightful shot from 25 yards off the bar (29).
Lunin seemed to be playing from the back and the Ukrainian number 1 was again to blame for Romania’s second goal when he let Razvan Marin’s speculative shot deflect under his frame (53′) shortly after the break.
Four minutes later, Romania killed the game with a third goal from Dennis Man, who crossed for Denis Dragus to convert from close range, played right in play thanks to Artem Dovthroughk’s extended boot.
That meant Romania scored three goals at a European Championship for the first time since June 2000 in their infamous 3-2 win over England, their last win in the European Championship final.
Romania is the leader of Group E ahead of Belgium’s clash with Slovakia in Frankfurt later on Monday.
At the final whistle, Romania cried tears of joy, overwhelmed with emotion and the realization of what they had achieved: a first European Championship victory in 24 years.
Their 29 per cent ownership over Ukraine is the lowest percentage ever recorded by a winning team (since 1980) in this competition.
This he did with gusto, with very good long-range shots in each half, one from captain Stanciu and the other from midfielder Razvan Marin.
Their close-knit defence prevented Ukraine from sniffing out the goal, helping to secure their country’s second win in 17 games at the European Championship. Florin Nita made an excellent back save from Georgiy Sudakov to keep the sheet blank.
For Iordanescu, whose father Anghel coached Romania three times and led them to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, the victory was a welcome gift for his birthday the day before and proved that his team’s unbeaten qualifying campaign might not have been a fluke. . Belief and impulse come together.
Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov told BBC One: “Unfortunately we lost today. We will analyze the adjustment and communicate what happened, but it is not the last adjustment and we will analyze it. We lost in some parts of the game and that’s why we lost today.
“I think all the players know the pressure. We understood it and played well. We made some mistakes and we will analyze it. We are very sensible players and we have to show our maximum. “
“We have 3 games and we have to prepare for the next game, which is even more serious than today’s. “
Edward Iordanescu, Romania coach: “I would like to thank all Romanians around the world. I know you were with us today. It was a fantastic effort by my team. If you had any questions, I think you can contact me now that it is a wonderful team. Congratulations to the guys. It’s just amazing.
“Since I joined the national team I have lived through difficult times. It was not easy. We have achieved other wonderful performances. We’ve had golden generations with wonderful performances, but this generation represents the soul. This team put in the greatest effort. In everything. A center as big as this team, no one has ever had limits.
“These are very difficult feelings to express. My family lived every moment with us. I had to send 4 cars to pick them up, so I have to thank them for coming with us. My family means everyone AND everything to me. Even if I wasn’t training, my family circle and I would probably still be here today. “
Romanian captain Nicolae Stanciu said: “I know myself and my teammates, so I know we are not going to celebrate this victory. Now we will only do it against Belgium.
“[The support] has been unique, we have never felt anything like this before. My brothers and sisters, my father, and my spouse had tears in their eyes. I would like to thank you all and I hope we have made you very happy. Satisfied. I’m satisfied today. We have everyone to thank and I hope they celebrate. What we did today was just amazing.
“It’s the purpose of my career. This t-shirt means everything to me. To score in a EURO final and win like we did is just incredible. “