Euro 2024: Romania Can Break Belgian Hearts in Cologne

Belgium vs Romania

Goals from captain Nicolae Stanciu, Răzvan Marin, and Denis Drăguș against Ukraine during their Euro 2024 opener led Romania to only their second win in Euros history after a world-stopping 3-2 win over England at Euro 2000.

With their chins held high and a bounce to their steps, Iordănescu and his men march to Cologne to face a stunned Belgian squad that suffered a devastating loss against Slovakia last week.

Unlike Romania, Belgium failed to live up to their potential during Matchday 1. However, it’ll be mightily foolish to prematurely count the Belgians out after just one loss. Domenico Tedesco’s team, led by Premier League champion Kevin De Bruyne, are the second-highest-ranked outfit in the European Championship, which is why most, this SBOTOP writer included, believe that their current situation is not a cause for concern.

Talking Points

Can Romania continue to rally?

Even though they are only one game deep into Euro 2024, Romania have already concocted a classic underdog story by showcasing early dominance against Ukraine on Matchday 1. The lowest-ranked outfit in Group E, Romania, look down on their rivals from their pedestal.

Romania’s attack was near perfect during their opening clash against Ukraine. Their final third had nine attempts with five on target, scoring three goals. If that’s not a manager’s dream, I don’t know what it is.

Now that fans and adversaries have a glimpse of Romania’s capabilities, it’s up to Edi Iordănescu to prove that their early dominance was no fluke.

“A fantastic effort by my team. If you had any doubts, you can believe me now that this is a great team,” Iordănescu exclaimed. “We have had golden generations. But this nation does not represent any metal; it is the generation of soul.”

It’s make or break for Belgium

The Belgians have their backs against the wall, and they need to garner winning Euro 2024 results against the red-hot Romanian outfit to stay alive in the tournament. After a stunning defeat in their opening match, Belgium must rely on their sheer talent to tread above water.

To Belgium’s defence, they had a handful of opportunities to close out Slovakia in their last match. However, two “controversial” VARs denied them the win, forcing them to settle for third in Group E after the Matchday 1 fray settled. Belgium fell to their first loss in 15 games under coach Domenico Tedesco, so maybe the Belgians can use this as motivation moving forward.

Regardless of their early fumble, most, if not all, still consider Belgium one of the nations that will advance to the next round from their cluster. Well, this is simply because of the talent and experience they boast.

Despite how Group E’s standings are shaping up, Belgium are sitting pretty in the FIFA World Rankings at No. 3. Ukraine is the second highest in the rankings at No. 24, with Group E leaders Slovakia and Romania following at No. 45 and No. 47, respectively.

All in all, Belgium must justify their status as one of the best teams in the world by briskly taking care of Romania and continuing their campaign towards European glory.

History

In over a decade’s worth of competition, Belgium and Romania have only faced each other twice. In those games, the results and statistics are impressively split down the middle.

Both of their past skirmishes came in the form of an international friendly. Both Romania and Belgium won a game apiece, and both matches ended in a 2-1 scoreline.

This means that in two matches, both teams have won once, lost once, scored three, and conceded two. Uncanny. So, winning their upcoming clash wouldn’t only put them in a better standing in the European Championships, but it would also give them an edge in their head-to-head matchups.

Betting Tip

Despite the results of their Matchday 1 games, the Euro 2024 odds still place Belgium as the 1.44 favourites, while the group leaders Romania are the 6.70 underdogs with a 4.35 draw price.

I would personally give the Belgians the edge over Romania just because of how pivotal it is for Tedesco’s outfit to garner the win at RheinEnergieStadion. This is why my betting tip is Belgium’s Asian handicap of -1.00 at 1.79.

With their backs against the wall, Belgium are surely hungry to avenge their opening loss and propel themselves out of the elimination zone. It’s only fair to expect the stacked Belgian squad to look for the back of the net from start to finish, which is why another line worth considering is their total goals over 2.50 at 1.78. Romania’s offensive capabilities and Belgium’s sense of urgency are the perfect ingredients for a high aggregate game, with sprinkled highlights and fireworks to boot.

 

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