Romania and Slovakia qualified for the round of 16 of Euro 2024 after a tense 1-1 draw in their final Group E game on Wednesday. Ondrej Duda gave Slovakia a first-half lead, but Romanian Razvan Marin equalized with a penalty before half-time. With all four teams in the group taking four points from three games, Romania finished top with more goals scored than second-placed Belgium. Slovakia qualified in third place thanks to a higher goal difference than fourth-placed Ukraine.
It was a memorable moment for Romania, who are in the knockout stages of the Euros for the first time in 24 years.
Romania have only qualified for the round of 16 once in their five Euro matches, but Edward Iordanescu’s tenacious team ended that long drought. They responded to Iordanescu’s pre-match challenge to make “history” with a combative display fueled by their army of vociferous fans, who turned the stadium into a sea of yellow.
Slovakia is in the knockout stage of a major tournament for the third time. They reached the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup and reached the same stage at Euro 2016.
Knowing that a draw would guarantee both teams’ qualification, cynics suggested that they would create a mutually beneficial stalemate. But there was no sign of Romania being content with a point as they started quickly.
They threatened to score early on when Andrei Ratiu’s shot was deflected by Martin Dubravka, with the rebound deflected wildly by Ianis Hagi.
Mosh-pit from Romania
Marin sent a long-range free-kick wide moments late as Romania looked to capitalize on their early dominance.
Slovakia were inches away from taking the lead when Lukas Haraslin’s free-kick sailed through a crowd of players and almost reached the far post. It was a warning that Romania did not heed and Slovakia opened the scoring in the 24th minute.
Juraj Kucka sent in a deep cross that caught the Romanian defense on its feet, leaving Duda free to head home Florin Nita from eight yards.
Romania’s response was emphatic as they equalized in the 37th minute thanks to an incisive strike from the son of former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Gheorghe Hagi.
David Hancko’s foul on Hagi was ruled a penalty by VAR after referee Daniel Siebert initially ruled the attack had taken place outside the box.
Marin stepped up to hit the penalty high into the net, to the deafening delight of the hordes of Romanian fans, who turned the arena into a frenzied mosh-pit.
Frankfurt’s scorching heat gave way to a fierce storm in the second half, with thunder, lightning and rain swirling around the stadium. It was a suitably dramatic backdrop to a tense encounter that came close to swinging Romania’s way when Marin forced a fine save from Dubravka before Denis Dragus curled the ball over the net.
Haraslin’s curler sailed past the far post as the storm abated, but although there was no winner, both sides ended up celebrating progress to the knockout stages.
Topics mentioned in this article
This story originally appeared on ndtv.com read the full story
