Following a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, where Romania won Group E, Slovakia and Romania both advanced to the Euro 2024 round of sixteen.
Although both teams knew a draw would be sufficient to advance them to the next round, the match was mainly played at a fast-paced, entertaining end-to-end tempo.
Ondrej Duda’s header in the 24th minute gave Slovakia the lead, and for a little while, the group’s dynamics were reversed, with Slovakia leading and Romania finishing last.
But Romania’s hopes of making it to the round of sixteen were dashed by Razvan Marin’s penalty in the 37th minute, which was given after a VAR review after David Hancko had fouled Ianis Hagi in the box.
Early in the second half, both teams had chances to score at the Frankfurt Arena in heavy rain, forcing the goalkeepers to make saves.
However, as the final fifteen minutes of play approached, the game slowed down as both teams settled for a point, and when the final whistle blew, both teams celebrated.
After Belgium’s goalless draw with Ukraine, Romania emerged victorious in Group E. The Red Devils, who now await France in the Round of 16, finished runners-up.
Romania will play the Netherlands in the round of sixteen, and Slovakia—one of the top third-placed teams—will play England in the round that follows.
By goal differential, Francesco Calzona’s team defeated Ukraine, the bottom team in Group E, with four points shared amongst the four teams.
Other posts by Hiresh
