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5 months ago
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There was once a golden generation of Romanian football back in the 1990s, but in the 21st century they have more than often flattered to decieve. However, have times changed? The current crop of Romanian talent are not to be underestimated.
The squad comes into the European Championships aiming to hit the heights of the great team led by arguably the country's greatest-ever player, Gheorghe Hagi.
Three decades on the team, who have Ianis Hagi - Gheorghe's son - within its ranks, might not have as much star-studded quality, but they are a well-oiled unit that works for each other in pursuit of becoming a power in the sport once again.
Romania may not be everybody's bet to get out of the group stage, but while on paper it may seem a difficult task, they will feel it can be done.
Mail Sport takes you through Group E's Romania, including how they qualified for the tournament, their history in the competition, and who to look out for.
Romania are set to take part in their sixth European championships and first since 2016
There are not high expectations from outsiders for Romania, but they want to spring a surprise
Who is the manager?
The man leading Romania into battle at the Euros, Edward Iordanescu, was once known more for being the ex-boyfriend of a famous Romanian singer, Delia Matache, and being the son of the national team's all-time greatest coaches, Anghel Iordanescu, than his own ability in the technical area.
Those times have certainly changed. Iordanescu now wants to emulate the successes of his father, who reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament - the 1994 World Cup - in charge of Romania.
The younger Iordanescu's career in coaching began at Steaua Bucharest as their assisntant manager in 2010. However, did not have the most glittering managerial in the 12 years before his appointment as Romania manager.
When he arrived in January 2022, the fans had low expectations. However, he proved the doubters wrong and guided Romania to Euro 2024 qualification after they failed to make the last installment of the competition.
Edward Iordanescu took over the reigns at Romania in 2022 when he was relatively untested
Who is their star man?
Fans of the Premier League will know who I am on about. Although Romania are kown more for their unity than their individuals, they do still have a standout star, Tottenham centre-back, Radu Dragusin.
The defender has not been given the chance to shine to many times since his arrival at Spurs in January, only the nine times to be exact, however, his form at Genoa prior to the move was impressive.
It's hard to believe that the 6ft 3" defender is only 22, his large stature aggressive style of play fools people into believing he is a veteran.
Dragusin showed early promise in his career joining Juventus at 18 years of age, however, his three years at the Old Lady did not quite go to plan - he made just four senior appearances.
Times changed in 2022 for the centre-back before he even left Juventus. He spent his final season at the Italian giants on loan at Genoa, and a year later the move was permanent, although, he left six months later for London.
Dragusin was handed his debut at 20 years old, by current boss Iordanescu, and he has served him well. The centre-back has only notched up 15 caps in total, but there will be many more to come.
Radu Dragusin has found minutes hard to come by at Tottenham but has still shown his capabilities when called upon
Dragusin (left) played a key role in the backline in Romania's qualification for Euro 2024
How did they qualify?
To many people's surprise, Romania qualified for Euro 2024 with relative ease, dominating their qualifying group to finish unbeaten and five points clear at the top of Group I.
Iordanescu's side won six of their 10 qualifying games, drawing the other four. There defence throughly impressed on that unbeaten run, as they only conceded five goals, while netting 16.
The most impressive of their six victories came against Switzerland, who finished one place below them in second. They defeated the Swiss by a slender score of 1-0, clinching the top spot in the final match of the group.
If they show the defnsive resilience and will to win in the tournament proper, Romania could go further than most people expect.
Romania finished top of their qualification group and didn't lose a single match along the way
Romania head to Germany knowing their first two matches of the tournament will likely decide their fate at Euro 2024.
They open their campaign against Ukraine, who are ranked 24 places above them in the FIFA world rankings before a battle with Belgium awaits them on matchday two.
If they manage to avoid losing both of those matches, Romania will certainly fancy their chances of qualifying going into their final match with Slovakia.
June 17 - Romania vs Ukraine, (Munich, 2pm BST)
June 22 - Belgium vs Romania (Cologne, 8pm BST)
June 26 - Slovakia vs Romania (Frankfurt, 5pm BST)
*All times are British Standard Time*
Tournament history
Romania's participation in Euro 2024 will be the their sixth at the tournament, and fourth this century.
Their first appearance in the competition came in 1984, but they did not get out of the group stage, finishing rock bottom. In 1996, they arrived with their golden generation expecting a lot more, however, they got even worse, finishing bottom of their group again, but this time with sero points.
Things could only go up from there when they qualified four years later, and they did. I'm sure England fans will remember how Romania qualified for the knockout stage for the very first time.
They edged out the Three Lions in group A, coming from behind in the final game to beat Kevin Keegan's side 3-2 via a last minute penalty. However, they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by eventual finalists, Italy.
2000 proved to be the only time they would make it out of the group stages as they fell at the first hurdle in both 2008 and their most recent appearance, 2016.
1984 - Group stage
1996 - Group stage
2000 - Quarter-finals
2008 - Group stage
2016 - Group stage
Romania dumped out England in the Euro 2000 group stages by scoring a last-minute penalty to beat the Three Lions 3-2
Their best finish at the tournament came in 2000 as they reached the quarter-final stage
Odds to win the trophy
The bookies are certainly not sold by Romania, they have put them as the fifth least likely side to come out on top in the tournament.
Sky Bet has them at 200/1 to win the tournament. Odds correct at the time of publication.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Florin Nita, Horatiu Moldovan, Stefan Tarnovanu, Razvan Sava
Defenders: Nicusor Bancu, Andrei Burca, Ionut Nedelcearu, Adrian Rus, Andrei Ratiu, Radu Dragusin, Vasile Mogos, Bogdan Racovitan
Midfielders: Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin, Alexandru Cicaldau, Ianis Hagi, Dennis Man, Valentin Mihaila, Marius Marin, Darius Olaru, Deian Sorescu, Florinel Coman, Adrian Sut, Constantin Grameni
Forwards: George Puscas, Denis Alibec, Denis Dragus, Daniel Birligea
English (US)