Last day of these groups, after which it will be known in order who will be the 16 teams qualified for the direct elimination phases, valid for the round of 16. Group E in perfect balance with all four teams at three points in the ranking, only distant in terms of goal difference with Romania and Belgium in front as they are positive between goals scored and conceded. Slovakia and Ukraine are chasing, with the latter temporarily closing the group with a -2 on goal difference. Both coming from a defeat in the previous round, they are ready to battle, aware of the fact that even a draw could be enough – for both – to access the next phase.
HOW SLOVAKIA ARRIVES
The coach of Slovakia, Francesco Calzona, once again relies on the offensive trident, with Ivan Schranz in great form: both goals scored bear his signature. In the last match, despite not lacking in performance, Slovakia first allowed themselves to be leveled at 1-1, only to then find themselves unexpectedly unprepared for the long ball which led Yaremuchuk to capitalize on the final 2-1. Calzona seems to rely on the same eleven, just as already seen in the two previous outings.
HOW ROMANIA ARRIVES
Iordanescu deploys his team like a mirror, apparently responding to Slovakia’s maneuvered dribble. Classic 4-3-3 with ten/elevenths confirmed: the only change should come from the control room, not entrusted to Marius Marin of Pisa, but Adrian Rus, left on the bench during the entire match against Belgium. A challenge in which the Romanians were unable to contain the Red Devils’ play patterns, conceding a large number of chances, which ended with the disappointment of the rearguard on the doubling, even with an assist from the back by Casteels. Iordanescu’s team will certainly have to be remade, in particular Denni Man who has something to make up for: his mistake in front of goal (still at 1-0) which could have given a totally different meaning to the qualification.
Click here for the probable lineups of Slovakia-Romania