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·26 juin 2024
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·26 juin 2024
Romania are sat top of the Group E table thanks to their superior goal difference and will fancy their chances in Wednesday
Slovakia v RomaniaWednesday 26 June, 17:00Live on BBC2
Things could not be tighter heading into the final round of fixtures in Group E with all four sides level on points and not a great deal separating them when it comes to goal difference either.
In Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine, it always felt like there were three sides more than capable of causing an upset and posing problems for Belgium and after their dismal showing at the World Cup in Qatar, The Red Devils are in danger of falling at the first hurdle again this summer.
Thanks to their victory over Ukraine, Romania are looking to progress from the group stage of the European Championship for just the second time in six appearances after doing so in 2000 under Emerich Jenei. They know that avoiding defeat in this one will do.
Slovakia will finish third if they draw, which will almost certainly be enough to go through due to their points tally.
Romania kept six clean sheets during their qualifying campaign, winning six and drawing four of their ten matches in order to book their spot in a sixth European Championship event and their first since 2016, where they finished bottom of their group with just a single point.
They headed into this tournament with just a solitary win across their 16 matches played in this tournament but having comfortably beaten Ukraine, they are on the verge of reaching the knockout stage for just the second time in their history.
With doubts over the fitness of Marius Marin and Nicusor Bancu, they may well be forced into making changes to their starting XI for this crucial encounter, and without the latter they will undoubtedly be weaker on the left.
Dennis Man has been one of The Tricolours standout performers so far in Germany with two assists against Ukraine, he's looked a real threat down the right and has been heavily involved in a lot of Romania's best chances with some perfectly weighted deliveries into the area, the 25-year-old is 8/1 to add to his tally of assists in this one.
Against Ukraine, Slovakia had 14 shots, with five of them on target, their joint-best tally at a major tournament. T
hey will, however, need to ensure that they maintain a high performance level for 90 minutes in this one, their drop off after the break against Ukraine was concerning.
Both of these sides have looked impressive at times going forward. Lukas Haraslin has been particularly sharp for The Falcons, a real talisman with two shots and two chances created in both games so far.