Romania and Ukraine get their Euro 2024 journeys underway when they meet in Group E on Monday afternoon.
While not the most glamorous tie of the opening round of fixtures, Monday’s match-up could prove pivotal in deciding the outcome of the group. With Belgium expected to finish in top spot, Slovakia are the other side vying with Romania and Ukraine to finish runners-up.
Romania head into the tournament in better form having been surprise winners of their qualification group. They were unbeaten across ten matches, finishing five points ahead of regulars Switzerland to secure a spot at their sixth European Championship.
Ukraine had the unenviable task of qualifying via the play-offs after finishing third in their group behind Euro 2020 finalists Italy and England. 2-1 victories against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland offered them passage to Germany this summer.
Here’s 90min’s guide to Romania vs Ukraine at Euro 2024.
Romania vs Ukraine H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Romania |
Ukraine |
|---|---|
|
Romania 0-0 Liechtenstein – 07/06/24 |
Moldova 0-4 Ukraine – 11/06/24 |
|
Romania 0-0 Bulgaria – 04/06/24 |
Poland 3-1 Ukraine – 07/06/24 |
|
Romania 2-3 Colombia – 26/03/24 |
Germany 0-0 Ukraine – 03/06/24 |
|
Romania 1-1 Northern Ireland – 22/03/24 |
Ukraine 2-1 Iceland – 26/03/24 |
|
Romania 1-0 Switzerland – 21/11/23 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 Ukraine – 21/03/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web |
|
United States |
ViX |
|
Canada |
TSN1, TSN4, TVA Sports, TVA+ |
Romania don’t have any fitness concerns heading into Monday’s match having come away from goalless draws with Bulgaria and Liechtenstein unscathed.
They don’t have many stars to call upon at the tournament, with Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin their most well-known performer. The unrelated Marius and Razvan Marin will start in the centre of the park, with Parma duo Dennis Man and Valentin Mihaila likely to feature on the flanks.
Romania predicted lineup (4-3-3): Nita; Ratiu, Dragusin, Racovitan, Bancu; Stanciu, M. Marin, R. Marin; Man, Dragus, Mihaila.
In contrast to Romania, Ukraine have a large number of household names within their squad. Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk are two of their most renowned stars, while the Girona duo of Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsygankov have had tremendous seasons in La Liga.
Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin will start in between the sticks and will have Bournemouth centre-back Illia Zabarnyi in front of him. One to keep an eye on is Shakhtar Donetsk youngster Georgiy Sudakov, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League this summer.
The only fitness concern for manager Serhiy Rebrov is Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko, who is a slight doubt for the opener with an ankle injury.
Ukraine predicted lineup (4-3-3): Lunin; Konoplya, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Sudakov, Stepanenko, Zinchenko; Tsygankov, Dovbyk, Mudryk.
Romania’s clash with Ukraine is unlikely to be a high-scoring affair, with the former not particularly frequent scorers. They don’t concede too many either, but their real issue will be creating chances and finishing them off.
Comparatively, Ukraine have a squad full of quality and seasoned pros. They will be significant favourites for the opener due to their individual stars, but Romania are unlikely to be a walkover for Rebrov’s men.