Clinical Romania stun Ukraine for first Euro win in 24 years

Romania delivered a high-octane performance to win their first European Championship match in 24 years, defeating Ukraine 3-0 in their Euro 2024 Group E opener on Monday.

Romania coach Edward Iordanescu promised his players would fight for every metre on the pitch, and they delivered, flying into tackles and racing all over to defend in waves as their boisterous fans cheered them on.

"We've had golden generations with big performances but this generation represents the soul," Iordanescu said. "This team has put the biggest effort into everything. As big a heart as this team, nobody has ever had. This generation is limitless."

Stunning long-range strikes in each half, one by captain and man-of-the-match Nicolae Stanciu and the other by midfielder Razvan Marin, stunned Serhiy Rebrov's Ukraine, who had dominated the first 20 minutes of the game.

Stanciu's cannon shot into the upper right corner gave Ukraine keeper Andriy Lunin little chance. The Real Madrid keeper should have done better with the second, which slipped under him as he dived.

Stanciu described his strike as the goal of his career, and he said the fan support was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"To score at a Euro finals and to win in the manner that we did it's just incredible," he said. "(The support) was unique. We've never felt anything like this before. My siblings, my father and my wife all had tears in their eyes."

Rebrov's team paid a high price for failing to convert their early possession into any meaningful chances, as Romania absorbed the pressure and struck first after dispossessing Ukraine deep in their own half.

"I'm really disappointed with our performance," Ukraine captain Taras Stepanenko said. "Today we were not the team like we always were. Romania deserved this win and we have to keep going."

Dennis Man -- the first Romanian player to provide multiple assists in a single match at a major tournament since Gheorghe Hagi against Colombia in the 1994 World Cup -- set up the first goal by intercepting Lunin's poor clearance and sweeping the ball to Stanciu.

The outcome was all but certain shortly before the hour mark, when Man drove into the box from a corner and crossed the ball for Denis Dragus to tap in.

Romania's tight-knit defence denied Ukraine a real chance at goal, securing the country's second win in 17 European Championship matches, the first coming against England 3-2 at Euro 2000.

Following the final whistle, Romania's players hugged each other and remained on the pitch to celebrate with their cheering fans.

The match was briefly interrupted by two separate pitch invaders, who were quickly led away by stewards.

For Iordanescu, whose father Anghel led Romania to the 1994 World Cup quarterfinals, the victory demonstrated that his team's unbeaten qualifying campaign was not a fluke.

SportsLigue