Romania recorded only its second-ever victory at the European Championship — and its first in 24 years — with a 3-0 win over Ukraine on Monday to give coach Edward Iordănescu a late birthday present.
Nicolae Stanciu put Romania ahead with a long-range strike in the first half before two quickfire goals from Răzvan Marin and Denis Mihai Drăgus early in the second half. It was Romania’s first win at a major tournament since a surprise 3-2 triumph over England 24 years ago.
Iordănescu, who was the first coach to lead a Romania team at a European Championship since his father Anghel in 2016, turned 46 years old on Sunday.
Stanciu also hit the bar as Romania thoroughly beat Ukraine, which is playing at Euro 2024 amid the backdrop of war at home and hoping to give its citizens some joy even as Russian missiles keep raining down on the country.
The Ukrainian Football Federation unveiled an installation in Munich of a stadium stand destroyed in the war back home to highlight the ongoing conflict ahead of the team’s first match at the European Championship on Monday.
Parts of a stand from Kharkiv’s Sonyachny stadium that was built for Euro 2012 — which Ukraine co-hosted — was displayed in a square in Munich ahead of the team’s opener against Romania.
The stadium was destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022 and is part of a interactive installation highlighting that 500 sports infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have suffered from Russian bombings and missile strikes during the two-year war.
“Today we’re going to start our games,” said former Ukraine coach and striker Andriy Shevchenko, who is the president of the country’s football federation. “One team on the field but a million soldiers who stay and defend Ukraine.
“We are all together. We play today for the country. We play today for the people who defend our lives and our country.”
The stadium was the training base for the Netherlands team during Euro 2012. Ukraine also trained there ahead of the last European Championship, where it reached the quarterfinals in its most successful campaign to date.
“Learning that the stadium was destroyed felt like finding out your home was ruined,” said Shevchenko, who was Ukraine’s coach at Euro 2020.
The stand and installation will be taken around to different German cities with the next stop being Düsseldorf, where Ukraine plays its next Group E match against Slovakia on Friday.
“It’s very important that we show during the war that in the country, we continue our lives,” the 47-year-old Shevchenko added. “Sport is a big part of our society. It’s a very powerful tool, but in good hands.
“The participation of Ukrainian team today it’s very important message for the rest of the world that we continue to live and we’re going to fight, but not only fight we’re going to do our normal life and try to be part of European society and the world society who share the same values of their freedom and democracy with us.”
Comments
0 comment