Slovakia and Romania drew 1-1 in the third and final match of Group E of the European Championships and both qualified for the round of 16, with the Romanians first and the Slovaks third.
THE MATCH
Mission accomplished for Slovakia and Romania, who in group E, the most balanced of Euro 24, obtained qualification for the round of 16 by dividing the stakes (1-1) and taking advantage of the goalless draw between Belgium and Ukraine, which promoted Lukaku and teammates as second and eliminated the Kiev national team. All four teams finished with 4 points from three games, but Romania ranked first having scored more goals than Belgium, and Slovakia third thanks to a superior goal difference than Ukraine. The Romanian national team managed to reach the elimination phase for the first time in 24 years, to the delight of its fans, who at Deutsche Bank Park filled the stands with a real wall of yellow shirts, imitating the famous one of the fans of Borussia in Dortmund. The fear of a dangerous misstep did not help the show so after the goals in the first half by Duda and Marin, on penalties, the scoring opportunities did not increase in the second half. Even the two coaches, when setting up the lineup, invented little: Francesco Calzona only inserted David Strelec at the center of the attack between Haraslin and Schranz, while Angel Iordanescu trusted the 25-year-old Ianis Hagi up front.
Slovakia Romania
It was the former Napoli coach’s team that took the match head-on, but was unable to take advantage of the pressure and greater ball possession. So the best chance in the opening minutes belonged to Romania, in the 11th minute, with a shot by Ratiu saved by Dubravka. On the rebound, Hagi missed the target. Halfway through the half, in the 24th minute, the Slovakian goal came: the former AC Milan player Kucka crossed from the right and the Verona winger Duda was ready to deflect his header to beat Nita. The goal seemed to give Slovakia wings, but Romania started to grind out the game again and following an action from the right Hagi was brought down on the edge of the area by Hancko. The referee was called to the VAR and assessed that the intervention was inside the area, awarding the penalty. From the spot, in the 37th minute, Empoli’s Razvan Marin was impeccable, achieving the 1-1 draw which took the two teams to half-time.
Slovakia Romania
The second half began with the two teams cautious, but it heated up just before the quarter of an hour, when Romania came close to taking the lead in the same action with Marin, stopped this time by Dubravka, and Dragus, not very precise on the rebound. Slovakia reacted immediately, but Haraslin, stopped by Nita, and Strelec, who put it just wide, only scared the Romanian fans, who flocked to Frankfurt in large numbers. The whirlwind of substitutions kept the pace of the match high, despite a downpour which weighed down the playing field, with Slovakia seeking the safety net with more determination, but the news coming from Stuttgart induced both national teams to to defend the precious point than to seek an unnecessary victory, both celebrating in the end the passage to the next round.
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