Romania delivered an energetic display to clinch their first victory at the European Championship in 24 years, triumphing convincingly with a 3-0 win over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 Group E opener on Monday. The match saw spectacular long-range goals in each half, one by captain Nicolae Stanciu, who was named man of the match, and another by midfielder Razvan Marin, stunning Serhiy Rebrov's Ukrainian side, who had dominated the initial 20 minutes.
Stanciu's powerful strike into the top right corner left Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin with little chance to react. Lunin, however, should have done better on the second goal, which slipped under him as he dived. Ukraine paid dearly for their failure to convert early possession into clear chances, as Romania absorbed the pressure and then capitalized on the counterattack after dispossessing Ukraine deep in their territory.
Ahead of the match, Romania coach Edward Iordanescu had pledged that his players would battle for every inch of the pitch, a promise they fulfilled by diving into tackles and covering ground to defend and launch counterattacks, spurred on by their enthusiastic supporters. The outcome was all but secured shortly before the hour mark when influential forward Dennis Man surged into the box from a corner and set up Denis Dragus to score with a simple tap-in.
Romania's solid defense prevented Ukraine from creating significant goal-scoring opportunities, securing only their second victory in 17 matches at European Championships; the first came with a memorable 3-2 win over England at Euro 2000. For Iordanescu, whose father Anghel had three managerial stints with Romania, including leading them to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, this victory was a fitting birthday present, coming a day after his birthday, and a testament to his team's undefeated run in qualifying, proving their mettle was no mere coincidence.
