There was once a golden generation of Romanian football in the 1990s, but in the 21st century they have often flattered themselves to deceive. However, have times changed? The current crop of Romanian talent should not be underestimated.
The team comes to the European Championship aiming to reach the heights of the great team led by arguably the best player in the country’s history, Gheorghe Hagi.
Three decades into the team, which has Gheorghe’s son Ianis Hagi among its ranks, they may not have as much star-studded quality, but they are a well-oiled unit working for each other as they look to become a power in sport. one more time.
Romania may not be everyone’s bet to get past the group stage, but although on paper it may seem like a difficult task, they will feel it can be achieved.
sport mail It takes you through Romania’s Group E, including how they qualified for the tournament, their history in the competition and who to watch out for.
Romania will participate in its sixth European championship and the first since 2016
Foreigners do not have high expectations for Romania, but they want to surprise
Who is the manager?
The man who led Romania into battle at the Euro Cup, Edward Iordanescu, was once best known for being the ex-boyfriend of a famous Romanian singer, Delia Matache, and being the son of the national team’s greatest coach of all time, Anghel Iordanescu, who for his own ability in the technical area.
Those times have certainly changed. Iordanescu now wants to emulate the successes of his father, who reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament, the 1994 World Cup, coached by Romania.
The young Iordanescu’s coaching career began at Steaua Bucharest as their assistant coach in 2010. However, he did not have the brightest management in the 12 years prior to his appointment as Romania coach.
When it arrived in January 2022, the fans had few expectations. However, he proved the skeptics wrong and guided Romania to qualification for Euro 2024 after they failed to reach the final installment of the competition.
Edward Iordanescu took the reins of Romania in 2022 when he had not yet been tested
Who is your star man?
Premier League fans will know who I’m talking about. Although Romania is known more for its unity than its individuals, it still has one standout star in Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin.
The defender hasn’t been given the chance to shine many times since arriving at Spurs in January – just nine to be exact – however his form at Genoa before the move was impressive.
It’s hard to believe that the 6-foot-3 defender is only 22 years old, his tall, aggressive playing style tricks people into believing he’s a veteran.
Dragusin showed early promise in his career by joining Juventus aged 18, however his three years at the Old Lady did not go as planned – he made only four senior appearances.
Times changed in 2022 for the center back even before leaving Juventus. He spent his last season at the Italian giants on loan at Genoa, and a year later the move was final, although six months later he left for London.
Dragusin debuted at age 20 under current boss Iordanescu, and has served him well. The centre-back has only made 15 international appearances in total, but there will be many more to come.
Radu Dragusin has had a hard time getting minutes at Tottenham, but he has still shown his abilities when asked
Dragusin (left) played a key role at the back as Romania qualified for Euro 2024
How did they rate?
To the surprise of many, Romania qualified for Euro 2024 with relative ease, dominating their qualifying group to finish unbeaten and five points clear at the top of Group I.
Iordanescu’s team won six of their 10 qualifying matches and drew the other four. His defense impressed deeply in that unbeaten run, as they only conceded five goals and scored 16.
The most impressive of their six wins came against Switzerland, who finished second one place below them. They defeated the Swiss by a tight score of 1-0 and secured first place in the last group match.
If they show defensive resilience and a will to win in the tournament itself, Romania could go further than most people expect.
Romania finished first in their qualifying group and did not lose a single match along the way
Calendar
Romania travels to Germany knowing that its first two matches of the tournament will likely decide its fate at Euro 2024.
They open their campaign against Ukraine, who are 24 places above them in the FIFA world rankings before a battle with Belgium awaits on matchday two.
If they can avoid losing both matches, Romania will certainly have a chance of qualifying ahead of the final match against Slovakia.
June 17 – Romania vs Ukraine (Munich, 14:00 BST)
June 22nd – Belgium vs Romania (Cologne, 20:00 BST)
June 26th – Slovakia vs Romania (Frankfurt, 17:00 BST)
*All times are British Standard Time*
Tournament history
Romania’s participation in Euro 2024 will be the sixth in the tournament and the fourth in this century.
Their first appearance in the competition came in 1984, but they failed to make it past the group stage and finished in last place. In 1996 they arrived with their golden generation expecting much more, however, they got even worse, finishing last in their group again, but this time with zero points.
Things could only get better from there when they qualified four years later, and they did. I’m sure English fans will remember how Romania qualified for the round of 16 for the first time.
They beat the Three Lions in Group A, coming from behind in the final match to beat Kevin Keegan’s side 3-2 via a last-minute penalty. However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual finalists Italy.
2000 turned out to be the only time they made it past the group stage, as they fell at the first hurdle in both 2008 and their most recent appearance, 2016.
1984 – Group stage
nineteen ninety six – Group stage
2000 – Quarter finals
2008 – Group stage
2016 – Group stage
Romania eliminated England in the group stage of Euro 2000 by scoring a penalty in the last minute to beat the Three Lions 3-2.
Their best result in the tournament came in 2000, when they reached the quarterfinals.
Odds of winning the trophy
The bookmakers certainly don’t convince Romania, placing them as the fifth least likely team to win the tournament.
sky bet He has them at 200/1 to win the tournament. Odds are correct at time of publication.
Equipment
Goalkeepers: Florin Nita, Horatiu Moldovan, Stefan Tarnovanu, Razvan Sava
Defenders: Nicusor Bancu, Andrei Burca, Ionut Nedelcearu, Adrian Rus, Andrei Ratiu, Radu Dragusin, Vasile Mogos, Bogdan Racovitan
Midfielders: Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin, Alexandru Cicaldau, Ianis Hagi, Dennis Man, Valentin Mihaila, Marius Marin, Darius Olaru, Deian Sorescu, Florinel Coman, Adrian Sut, Constantin Grameni
Forward: George Puscas, Denis Alibec, Denis Dragus, Daniel Birligea