Romania have pulled of a stunning win against Ukraine in their Euro 2024 clash. They managed to ease to a 3-0 win with goals in either half and with a solid display at the back.
Nicolae Stanciu scored what could easily be the goal of the tournament to kick things off in the match. The midfielder’s belter just before the half-hour mark saw Romania take the lead and they held on until half-time.
Răzvan Marin made it 2-0 just 8 minutes after the restart with another long-range goal. Andrey Lunin had the opportunity to save the shot, but he jumped over the ball.
Denis Drăguş made things worse for Ukraine just 4 minutes after with a tap-in from inside the six-yard box. Romania held on to their 3-0 win and are now in a commanding position in Group E.
Romania National Football Team Player Ratings vs Ukraine
GOALKEEPER
Florin Niță – 7: Did not have a lot to do in the match, as most of Ukraine’s shots were straight at him. He was troubled more by his own defender when Bancu’s header went across the post late in the game.
DEFENDERS
Andrei Rațiu – 7.5: Held his own against the pacy Mykhailo Mudryk and ensured that the winger did not get a lot of space to shoot. He was beaten a couple of times but recovered well.
Radu Drăguşin – 7.5: A flawless performance from the defender to keep the Ukraine forwards in check throughout the match.
Andrei Burcă – 7: He was going toe-to-toe with the Ukraine forwards and that made things easy for his goalkeeper Nita.
Nicușor Bancu – 6.5: A possible weak-link for Romania but it did not prove them costly today.
MIDFIELDERS
Marius Marin – 6.5: The defensive midfielder was always ready to help when needed and supported the defenders to keep the Ukranian attackers away from the goal.
Dennis Man – 8: Two assists for the right midfielder today and he was unstoppable. Always available to start the counters and Ukraine’s defenders had a tough time.
Răzvan Marin – 7.5: He will take full credit for the goal, but it was a shot that should have been saved by Lunin. He was not involved a lot but will be happy with his performance.
Nicolae Stanciu – 7.5: Goal of the tournament so far and what a shot it was! He will not be forgetting that moment easily and will be a household name around Europe today.
Florinel Coman – 6.5: His performance was quiet compared with the others, but he did his job well. However, his passing was woeful, and he managed to complete just 5 of his 12 attempts.
FORWARD
Denis Drăguş – 8: A well-deserved goal today and it was a brilliant effort even if he had not got on the scoresheet.
SUBSTITUTES
Ianis Hagi – 6: Came on for the final 30 minutes and completed the job started by Dennis Man, the star who he replaced on the pitch.
Valentin Mihalia – 6: Did a much better job than Coman, and was involved a lot more in attack and defense.
Adrian Rus – 6: Was hardly involved in the game despite coming on for the final 15 minutes.
George Puscas – 6: Did nothing in the game despite playing for over 10 minutes.
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Ukraine National Football Team Player Ratings vs Romania
GOALKEEPER
Andriy Lunin – 4: Could have done a lot better and was partly responsible for two of the three goals today. The second goal should have been saved with ease, but he jumped over the ball.
DEFENDERS
Yukhym Konoplia – 5.5: Got booked and things were never in his favor as he was mostly out of position.
Illia Zabarnyi – 6: Did not get the help he needed from the right-back and that saw him getting exposed. He got beaten easily by the Romanian forwards at almost every chance.
Mykola Matviyenko – 6.5: The pick of the Ukraine defenders this afternoon, but that is hardly a compliment as they were all poor.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6.5: The Gunners star was also decent but he was unable to keep Dennis Man in check and Razvan Marin made things worse for him.
MIDFIELDERS
Mykola Shaparenko – 6.5: The defensive midfielder was unable to get close to Stanciu and was giving the Romanian star a lot of space.
Taras Stepanenko – 6.5: Very similar to Shaparenko, was unable to stand out and deliver a captain’s performance.
Viktor Tsygankov – 5: Possibly the worst outfielder on the player on the pitch today. His passing was decent but he never managed to threaten the opponents.
Georgiy Sudakov – 6.5: Another midfielder who should have done a lot better, but failed to impress. 87% passes success, but did not manage to create any chance, but got close to scoring.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 7: The one Ukraine player who kept trying but just could not get on the scoresheet. He came close to scoring, but his shot went over the bar from close range.
FORWARD
Artem Dovbyk – 6: Was mostly outside the box and did not manage to replicate his club form. Four of his ten passes today were from kickoff.
SUBSTITUTES
Volodymyr Brazhko – 6.5: He did a much better job than Ukraine’s captain Stepanenko. He made them calm and held his own when needed.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 6.5: The attacking change was good, but it was too little too late.
Roman Yaremchuk – 6.5: Hit the bar in the final minutes, but that was about it from the substitute.
Oleksandr Tymchyk – 6: Completed more passes than most of his teammates despite playing just 12 minutes.