Romania and Ukraine will face off in their first Euro 2024 group encounter at the Allianz Arena in Munich, on the 17th June, at 2pm (GMT). Despite both teams being underdogs in this competition, they’ve demonstrated a lot of resilience and tactical acumen. Romania will be the biggest underdog in Group E given their low world ranking and lack of world class talents, but with only two losses in their last 15 games, they should not be underestimated. Ukraine, still dealing with the nation’s ongoing crisis, has tremendous support both back home and globally. They have a squad worthy of standing up to the highest ranked teams, as proven in the qualifiers where they claimed draws against England and Italy, making them a team to watch in this year’s UEFA European Championship. With both teams promising performances, you can expect a game filled with passion, determination and underdog spirit. Keep reading as we dive deeper into how this game might play out. We’ll also provide our top betting tips for this exciting encounter.
Romania vs Ukraine Predictions
Full-Time Result Prediction: Neither side will want to give much away in what could prove to be a cagey opener, however, Ukraine have impressed in challenging circumstances over the last few years and I fancy them to claim the spoils here at 6/5.
Goals Market Prediction: I can seen this one going under 2.5 goals at 8/13. Romania conceded just five goals in qualifying, while Ukraine’s defence was breached just eight times; impressive considering they played England and Italy four times.
Both Teams to Score (BTTS): Defences are likely to be the name of the game here, with a ‘no’ to both teams to score looking the best bet at 4/5.
First Goalscorer Prediction: It’s impossible to ignore Ukraine’s Artem Dovbyk who scored 20 La Liga goals for Girona this season.
Correct Score Prediction: Playing on the low-scoring theme, I like the look of Ukraine at 8/1 to edge this 1-0.
Key Battle: Romania defender Radu Dragusin coming up against Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk should be a highlight of this fixture.
Tactical Approach: Both countries tend to employ a 4-2-3-1 formation meaning they could well cancel each other out in this Group E opener.
Romania Latest Team News
There are high hopes in Romania that they have a group of players that will lead them out of the doldrums that they have been in since the glory days of Romanian football in the 1990s. That team of Gheorghe Hagi, Dan Petrescu, Gheorghe Popescu et.al. reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, as well as qualifying for every major tournament for a decade.
This new generation will be at their peak over the next few years with most of the players in their mid-to-late 20s, so they are not young, but they just have that level of experience where they could be ready to kick on. There is no real major star either, with Radu Dragusin, recently moved to Tottenham Hotspur (a la Popescu and Dimitrescu of the 1990s) probably the one who is closest to fitting that bill.
The attack will be led by former Reading striker George Puskas, with support from Rangers man, currently on loan at Alaves, Ianis Hagi (son of Gheorghe), Olimpiu Morutan, and captain Nicolae Stanciu.
Goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan signed for Atletico Madrid in January, but has yet to make his La Liga debut. The midfield and defence is solid, but with no real standout quality, bar Dragusin.
Ukraine Latest Team News
Ukraine had a particularly tough qualification group with England and Italy. To qualify for this finals was a good achievement given the circumstances of the group, but also the ongoing conflict at home.
Ukraine have an exciting group of attacking players, many of whom are young and in good or better form. Indeed, many of the players have become household names in the UK due to playing in the Premier League. Oleksandr Zinchenko has patrolled the left flank of the Premier League’s best for a decade or so, but the Ukraine captain is deployed in midfield for his country, which allows Everton’s Vitaly Mykolenko to bomb up and down the left.
Mykailo Mudryk is a big goal threat with his pace, Viktor Tsygankov has been the provider extraordinaire for Girona’s surprise La Liga title bid, where he has a great partnership with Artem Dovbyk, who leads the Pichichi standings in Spain at the time of writing.
Georgiy Sudakov and Illya Zabarnyi have made superb starts to their careers as well, and at only 21, they are the future of this team moving forwards. Indeed, there is a good mix of experience and exciting youth in this Ukraine squad. Even the goalkeepers have strength in depth with Bushchan, the former #1, making way for both Andriy Lunin, currently excelling for Real Madrid, and Benfica’s #1 Anatoliy Trubin.