June 17 – Romania rocked Group E with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Ukraine as Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin had a Euros debut to forget.
The victory, which saw a flawless demonstration of Edward Iordănescu’s counter-attacking play, marked Romania’s second ever win in the European Championships.
The result shakes the foundations of a difficult group, which many thought the Romanians wouldn’t have the strength to exit, as the team go top of Group E before gearing up to meet Belgium on Friday.
Both Ukraine and Romania featured their most expensive players ever, as Chelsea’s €70 million man Mykhaylo Mudryk lined up against €25 million Spurs defender Radu Dragusin, but it was the team’s ability to perform as a unit that gave them their hard-earned headway.
Romania’s Iordănescu opted for his favoured 4-3-3 lineup, and looked to seize the game using counter-attacking ferocity.
Refusing to be weighed down by their terrible record in European Championships, in which they have just one win in 15 games, Romania doubled and then tripled down in quick succession after smelling blood in the first half.
Young talent Ianis Hagi, son of Romania icon Gheorghe Hagi, was unexpectedly dropped to the bench – a bold tactical move that eventually paid off.
Ukraine’s Sergiy Rebrov opted for a similar formation to Romania, but built around two holding midfielders to allow their gifted line of attackers more fluidity and freedom to get forward.
They entered the tournament with a star-studded roster, which included Mudryk, Girona duo Artem Dovbyk and Victor Tsygankov, Real Madrid Stopper Lunin and Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Armed with an excited but very young squad, Rebrov’s setup was exposed by Romania’s athleticism and experience.
Both teams opened aggressively. Mudryk posed an early threat down the left hand side, looking untouchable as he glided past defenders. Ukraine settled into the game early, moving comfortably in possession high up the…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/17/romania-shock-ukraine-3-0-smash-grab-raid/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-06-17 18:50:54
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