Romania’s first victory since 2000
Ukraine stumbles into the European Championship with a bitter false start
17.06.2024, 16:52
Romania made the perfect start to the European Football Championship against Ukraine. A dream goal by Nicolae Stanciu paved the way for the first European Championship victory since 2000. Ukraine’s efforts were in vain. Before that, the game was charged with a lot of pathos.
Romania’s substituted captain Nicolae Stanciu danced wildly along the touchline before the final whistle, encouraging the fans to cheer even louder. When the final whistle sounded, tears of joy flowed. Goal scorer Denis Dragus climbed into the stands after the 3-0 (1-0) win against Ukraine on Monday and hugged a woman with a small child, crying. The Ukrainian side was in great pain in Munich, top star Mudryk sat on the pitch for minutes before trudging to his teammates in front of the fans’ curve, bitterly disappointed.
“We made some individual mistakes and also team mistakes. We basically lost in all areas,” said Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrow. “The Romanians defended very disciplined. But that’s the way it is at the European Championships. If you want to get points at the European Championships, you really have to give it your all. And we didn’t do that today.” Rebrow did not want to use the difficult situation in his home country as an excuse: “We have been dealing with this mental pressure for more than two years, and yet we are here, we understand it.”
After a bad pass from Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrij Lunin, captain Nicolae Stanciu scored the lead in the 29th minute for the Romanians, who are known for their robust defense. In front of around 60,000 spectators, Lunin then let a shot from Razvan Marin (53′) slip through before Denis Dragus (57′) made the early decision against a disorientated Ukrainian team.
Game extremely emotionally charged
For the Ukrainians, it was more than just a sporting start to the European Championship. After all, the country has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for more than two years. “When your wife calls you at five in the morning because she has holed up in the bunker with your children again, it is psychologically extremely difficult to deal with,” said midfielder Heorhij Sudakow, a professional at Shakhtar Donetsk since 2020, of the extreme stress.
Gates: 1:0 Stanciu (29.), 2:0 Razvan Marin (53.), 3:0 Dragus (57.)
Romania: 1 – 2. Lukacs, 1 – 2. Raduć, 1 – 2. Kuznetsov, 1 – 2. Kuznetsov, 1 – 2. Raduć … Trainer: Iordanescu
Ukraine: Lunin – Konoplya (72. Tymchyk), Sabarny, Matviyenko, Zinchenko – Stepanenko (62. Braschko), Shaparenko (62. Yaremchuk) – Tsyhankov (62. Yarmolenko), Sudakov (83. Malinovsky), Mudryk – Dovbyk. – Trainer: Rebrow
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
“Our games are not only watched on TV and in the stadium, but also in the trenches. There, where our soldiers risk their lives for our freedom and our independence so that we can play football,” said Sudakov’s teammate Olexander Zinchenko from Arsenal FC before kick-off. “That’s triple motivation every time we put on our jerseys.”
Madrid keeper with bitter mistake
There was no sign of any extra push from the Ukrainian footballers, who had entered the Munich Arena with national flags buttoned around their shoulders. The Romanians also started out nervous, but they did not make as many mistakes as the Ukrainians.
The most serious mistake in the first 45 minutes was made by goalkeeper Lunin. After a back pass from Mykola Matviyenko, he was slightly under pressure and played the ball straight into the feet of Dennis Man. The attacker from Parma served captain Stanciu, who scored the Romanians’ lead with a direct shot from 18 meters. Zinchenko immediately ran to his dejected keeper and consoled him.
In front of the eyes of legendary striker and association boss Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine continued to achieve almost nothing. Shevchenko’s former teammate and current national coach Serhiy Rebrov was repeatedly annoyed on the sidelines. Presumably also because Chelsea’s 100 million euro man Mykhailo Mudryk was not effectively put in the spotlight by his teammates.
Lunin was even lucky in the 39th minute when a direct corner from Stanciu only hit the crossbar. But after the break, Real’s Champions League winners made the next fatal mistake when he let a shot from Razvan Marin from around 20 meters slip through under his arms. Ukraine was now completely out of sorts. They strolled through the opposition’s back line after a corner, and Dragus converted his pass unchallenged to decide the game. For Ukraine, Roman Yaremchuk only hit the crossbar shortly before the final whistle.