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Euro 2024: Romania vs Ukraine
Kickoff Time: 2024-06-17 21:00 (HKT)
Source: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Romania’s last appearance in the European Championship was in 2000, where they impressively defeated England and Germany in the tough group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals alongside Portugal. However, since then, Romania’s football fortunes have been declining, and optimism for their qualification to the finals this time is low. Notably, Romania are valued at only 95.83 million euros, the lowest among all participating European Championship teams. Despite this, Romania possess formidable defense. In the qualifying matches, they conceded only five goals in 10 games, allowing them to achieve six wins and four draws, becoming one of the six teams to advance with an undefeated record. However, where Romania excelled on the defensive side, they were lackluster on the offensive. In 10 qualifying games, Romania managed only 16 goals, six of which came against the lower-ranked Andorra. Their offensive firepower is somewhat limited.
Three years ago, Ukraine, led by legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko, made a run to the quarterfinals of the European Championship. Now, three years later, Ukraine have made a comeback, navigating through the play-offs and qualifying for the European Championship once again. Ukraine boast numerous stars from the top five leagues. Their offensive line features La Liga’s golden boot winner Artem Dovbyk and his club teammate Viktor Tsygankov, while Chelsea signed Mykhaylo Mudryk at a premium price. In midfield, Oleksandr Zinchenko may no longer be a main player, but Ukraine will adjust their formation, opting for either a double or triple midfield depending on the opponent. As for goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, his impressive performance this season at Real Madrid is evident to all. Ukraine’s overall strength should not be underestimated, and this main lineup gives them confidence to achieve good results in the European Championship.
Comparing the overall strength of the two teams, Ukraine clearly have the edge over Romania. Additionally, Ukraine’s performance in warm-up matches was significantly better than Romania’s. Moreover, Ukraine possess numerous offensive threats, and even though Romania are proficient in defense, they may find it difficult to contain Ukraine’s attacking prowess. Taken together, Romania should not be overly esteemed, while Ukraine are expected to clinch all three points.
Romania’s Last 5 Games: DDLDW
24-06-08 Romania 0-0 Liechtenstein
24-06-05 Romania 0-0 Bulgaria
24-03-27 Romania 2-3 Colombia
24-03-23 Romania 1-1 Northern Ireland
23-11-22 Romania 1-0 Switzerland
Ukraine’s Last 5 Games: WLDWW
24-06-12 Moldova 0-4 Ukraine
24-06-08 Poland 3-1 Ukraine
24-06-04 Germany 0-0 Ukraine
24-03-27 Ukraine 2-1 Iceland
24-03-22 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-2 Ukraine
Head To Head Record:
16-05-30 Romania 3-4 Ukraine
11-02-09 Romania 2-2 Ukraine
10-05-30 Ukraine 3-2 Romania
Prediction: Ukraine to win