Romania vs Ukraine Prediction, 8pm June 17: Decoding the Phenomenon

TPO - Ukraine is considered the stronger team in the opening match of Group E. However, Romania has been in good form since the qualifying round and entered EURO 2024 as a phenomenon.

Romania are ranked 46th in FIFA. They are one of the most underrated teams at EURO 2024, with a squad worth just over 90 million euros. However, opponents cannot underestimate this team, as they have only lost one match since 2023. Specifically, in the last 15 matches, Romania has only lost to Colombia. Romania does not have stars, but the solidarity, tenacity and desire of each player make them a team that is not easy to bully.

In the EURO 2024 qualifiers, Romania finished first in Group I, ahead of Switzerland. Ukraine was drawn in a tough group in the qualifiers, with England and Italy, so they had to compete for a play-off ticket to EURO 2024. Ukraine's form is no less impressive than Romania's, winning 8 and losing 2 in their last 10 matches. Before EURO 2024, Ukraine drew with Germany in a friendly match. In their quest to qualify for EURO 2024, Ukraine held both England and Italy to a draw in the qualifiers.

Oleksandr Zinchenko and his teammates need to be careful against the cohesive Romanian team. Most of the Romanian players are unknowns, so Ukraine needs to carefully calculate and analyze the opponent's strengths and weaknesses. In other aspects, Ukraine is clearly stronger than its opponent and has the right to confidently set a goal of victory.

Romania's star man is Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin, who is valued at €25m. The rest of the squad is made up of players worth less than €10m, most of whom play in their domestic league. Romania will be counting on Nicolae Stanciu, their top scorer in the EURO 2024 qualifiers (3 goals).

Ukraine has a squad worth four times more than Romania (nearly 400 million euros). In addition to Zinchenko, Ukraine has Artem Dovbyk, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Georgiy Sudakov and Olya Zabarnyi, who are the most promising talents in Ukrainian football in the last five years. Ukraine's main strength will be on the left wing, with Zinchenko starting as a left-back and Mudryk as a left-sided striker.

Both teams often line up in a 4-3-3 formation. With superior human quality, it is not surprising that Ukraine will push up the formation to control the ball and organize superior attacks from the start. Meanwhile, Romania will not need to rush because their system prioritizes solidity and stable organization before thinking about scoring.

Historically, Romania and Ukraine have met six times. Each team has won three matches. Romania last lost 3-4 in a friendly in 2016.

Both Romania and Ukraine can breathe a sigh of relief after being drawn in Group E at EURO 2024. There is only one big team here, Belgium. The strengths of Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia are not too different. The chances for Romania and Ukraine to pass the group stage are wide open. First of all, one of the two teams needs to win on the opening day to get off to a smooth start.

Expected lineup:

Romania: Nita, Ratiu, Dragusin, Racovitan, Bancu, Stanciu, Marin, Razvan Marin, Man, Dragus, Mihaila.

Ukraine: Lunin, Konoplia, Zabarnyi, Matvilenko, Zinchenko, Sudakov, Stepanenko, Shaparenko, Tsyhankov, Dovbyk, Mudryk.

Score prediction: Romania 0-1 Ukraine.

Quynh Anh

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-romania-gap-ukraine-20h-ngay-176-giai-ma-hien-tuong-post1646886.tpo