Romania U-21 – Ukraine U-21

The tournament hosts will lose their second match in a row

Prior to the start of the Under-21 continental competition, Spain were clear contenders for first place in Group B, while the Ukrainians, Romanians and Croats were seen as more or less equal contenders for second place. The first round confirmed the expectations of the footballing public. The Romanian national team had been playing against the five-time European champion till the 55th minute with the score 0-0, but "broke" after the first conceded goal. The Romanians' 0-3 defeat at the hands of Spain looked fair considering the final statistics. With 21% of the ball possession, one shot on target and one corner kick per game, it is a difficult result in world football. In contrast to the Georgian national team, the Romanian team were not helped by the home walls against the Iberian Peninsula representative. The Ukrainian outfit were considered underdogs in their game with their peers from Croatia. With an easy advantage on the opponents' pitch, Rotan's charges managed to score the opening goal in the first half, and early in the second half they sealed the lead through the efforts of Kaschuk and Sikan. The scoreline remained at 2-0 until the end of the game, during which Mykhaylo Mudryk failed to appear on the pitch. Bookmakers identified Ukraine as the favourite to win the second leg with an odds of 2.04. Of all the participants in the European Championship, Romania's results seem the most dubious. Although playing their third successive tournament, and building on a fine continental football tradition, Romania had not featured in an official match since 2021 before Wednesday's encounter with Spain. Emil Sandoi's side have won just twice in the ten friendlies they played in 2022 and 2023, beating the club team, Steaua Bucharest, in one of them. The Ukraine national team finished second in the group behind France in the qualifying round, losing one match only to that side. In the play-offs the Ukraine Blues came up against Slovakia, whom they lost away 2-3. In the return leg, Rotan's side blanked the opponents 3-0, and during their UEFA EURO preparations they proved themselves to be a sound team. It's a good bet that the hosts will lose their second game in a row.