EURO 2024: Ukraine opens final tournament with loss to Romania

17.06.2024 17:58

The Ukraine national team kicked off their EURO 2024 campaign in Germany with a match in Munich against Romania.

On the fourth day of EURO 2024, the Ukrainian team began their tournament journey. Today, Mykolenko was unavailable, so Zinchenko started on the left side of the defense. Notably, Shaparenko and Sudakov both appeared on the pitch.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

The match started with Ukraine's positional attacks, countered by a long-range shot from Coman, saved by Lunin. The blue-yellow team attempted to build attacks through the flanks, with Tsygankov’s dangerous cross and Dovbyk's shot missing the target. However, in the 29th minute, a mistake by Lunin led to a turnover, and Man's interception allowed Stanciu to score a stunning goal from outside the box into the top corner.

Ukraine created several sharp attacks afterward, but Romania's defense prevented any successful attempts. For instance, Drăgușin nearly scored an own goal when clearing Mudryk's cross. Before halftime, Romania almost scored again, with Man’s deflected shot hitting the post and Stanciu hitting the crossbar directly from a corner.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

After the break, Romania quickly doubled their lead. In the 53rd minute, a counterattack saw the ball deflect to Răzvan Marin, who finished precisely into the bottom left corner. Stanciu's dangerous shot was blocked shortly after, and Lunin saved Ratiu’s attempt. However, Drăguș pushed the ball into the net from Man's cross, making it 3:0 from the resulting corner.

In response, Serhiy Rebrov made a triple substitution. Yarmolenko had a good chance but shot over, while Romania continued to threaten, particularly from Stanciu's free kick. In the 77th minute, Ukraine finally managed a shot on target, but Nita saved Sudakov’s effort. Later, the Romanian keeper also denied a deflection from his teammate.

Photo by Andriy Yushchak

Mudryk had a clear chance but missed the near-top corner. In stoppage time, Yaremchuk hit the crossbar with a lob, and Mudryk’s long-range shot was saved by Nita. Ultimately, Ukraine lost 0:3.

Ukraine's next match in EURO 2024 will be on June 21 in Düsseldorf against Slovakia.

EURO 2024. Final Tournament. Group E

Romania - Ukraine - 3:0 (1:0)

Goals: Stanciu (29), R. Marin (53), Drăguș (57).

Romania: Nita, Rațiu, Drăgușin, Burcă, Bancu, M. Marin (Rus, 75), Man (Hagi, 62), R. Marin, Stanciu (c) (Rădăcanu, 87), Coman (Mihăilă, 62), Drăguș (Pușcaș, 75).

Substitutes: Moldovan, Târnovanu, Nedelcearu, Alibec, Cicâldău, Olaru, Mogos, Sorescu, Bîrlăgeă, Șut.

Coach: Edward Iordănescu.

Ukraine: Lunin, Konoplia (Tymchyk, 72), Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Zinchenko, Stepanenko (c) (Brazhko, 62), Shaparenko (Yaremchuk, 62), Tsygankov (Yarmolenko, 62), Sudakov (Malinovskyi, 83), Mudryk, Dovbyk.

Substitutes: Bushchan, Trubin, Svatok, Taloverov, Sydorchuk, Mykolenko, Zubkov, Bondar, Vanat, Mykhaylichenko.

Coach: Serhiy Rebrov.

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden).

Yellow Cards: R. Marin (79) — Konoplia (67).

June 17. Munich. Arena Munich.

June 17: Belgium vs Slovakia. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 21: Slovakia vs Ukraine. Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf. Kick-off: 16:00 Kyiv time.

June 22: Belgium vs Romania. Cologne Stadium, Cologne. Kick-off: 22:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Slovakia vs Romania. Frankfurt Stadium, Frankfurt. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

June 26: Ukraine vs Belgium. Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart. Kick-off: 19:00 Kyiv time.

Kick-off times are in Kyiv time.