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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Romania coach Edward Iordănescu was insulted when he was told before the game that he could arrange a low-key draw against Slovakia to send the two groups to the round of 16 at the European Championship.
It ended 1-1 on Wednesday and Romania finished top of Group E, ahead of favourites Belgium, but not in the way the experts predicted.
And Iordănescu let him know after a very vital attack played in adverse weather conditions and with crazy mood swings.
“There are other people who apologize to us,” Iordănescu said, calling some of the week’s comments “shameful. “
“They throw this garbage at us, only at the team and our fans. We showed our character,” said the Romanian coach, in the only answer in English in his press conference.
The peculiarity of the 24-team European Championship format is that Groups E and F, which play on the last day of the organizational level, have an advantage. They know the result they want and are confident of a third-place finisher in the top four who will have to qualify for the knockout levels.
At the start of Wednesday’s match, all four groups had three problems before Romania and Slovakia drew in Frankfurt, while Belgium drew 0-0 at eliminated Ukraine.
Romania crowned the organization in the tiebreaker with more goals scored than Belgium, and both had a better goal than third-placed Slovakia.
“No one can simply say that my team didn’t play to win for 90 minutes,” Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona said.
Iordănescu and Calzona were right to feel vindicated a day after questions in the pre-match press conferences about the possibility of a draw without energy to get the point they both needed.
Both teams scored goals despite the sweltering heat in the first half, which ended 1-1.
They scored more goals in pouring rain and rumbling thunder midway through the second half.
The fans, especially the Romanians in yellow shirts who filled two-thirds of Frankfurt’s stadium, were energized through football amid the crackling thunderstorm.
The teams were still chasing the winning goal in constant rain until stoppage time before finishing 1-1.
Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka said he had experienced that kind of climate in his career.
“The heat and the ground were very hard at the beginning and within forty-five minutes the weather changed completely, with puddles in some areas of the pitch,” Lobotka said.
Slovakia were leading in the minute when Ondrej Duda headed into the corner of the net.
Răzvan Marin equalized in the 37th minute thanks to a penalty awarded after a two-minute video review to determine whether Ianis Hagi had stumbled inside the box.
Romania will now play in the round of 16 for the first time since Euro 2000, when Hagi’s father, national football icon Gheorghe, captained in the No. 10 shirt now worn by his son.
Romania’s praise lies at the weakest end of the knockout stage, separated to the final by Spain and Portugal, in top form, as well as France and Germany.
The next step for Romania will be to face the third-placed team in Munich with five full days of rest before Tuesday’s game.
Belgium will face France as an exceptional duo on Monday in Dusseldorf. Slovakia could face Spain on Sunday in Cologne.
The distribution of the four third-placed teams in the round of 16 will be known once the Group F matches conclude later on Wednesday.
When the football anthem “Freed From Desire” was played after the final whistle, the two teams of fans sang and jumped to celebrate with the players. The Romanian enthusiasts were much more than the Slovaks.
“I think that never in Romania’s history has the team had so much support, not even (Hagi’s) golden generation,” Iordănescu said. “Romania has regained the spirit of never losing again. “
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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews. com/hub/euro-2024
Graham Dunbar, Associated Press
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