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So much for The Disgrace of Gijón, part two. Romania and Slovakia they may have achieved the result they knew in advance would guarantee both sides escape from Group E, but there was not a centile of a seam. Unlike the infamous match between Germany and Austria in 1982, this game was not played at pace, but at full throttle, with plenty of chances, even in the middle of an apocalyptic thunderstorm.
Ondrej Duda’s powerful header was canceled out by Razvan Marin’s penalty and it meant Romania ranked first in the group, while Slovakia also came through as one of the best third-placed countries. With a crowd three-quarters Romanian, it felt like a home game at times, and the atmosphere was remarkable with noise and pyrotechnics everywhere, but these were two evenly matched teams and a draw was a fair result. Honest.
“There are some people who have to apologize to us for the position we took towards this game,” Romania manager Eduard Iordanescu said after the match with talk of a possible non-aggression pact. “Everyone did their best to throw mud at the teams, at our work and our dignity. It was embarrassing. They should have waited before judging us, but they threw this garbage not only at us but also at our opponent. If we were going to lose and go home, we were going to do it with our dignity intact.”
It is true that although both coaches promised victory before the start of the match, few people believed them. But it was clear from the start that the pace was too fast, with temperatures approaching 30C, to reflect a premeditated stalemate. Slovenia had the first chance of the game and scored the first goal, with Duda making no mistake with a powerful header from Juraj Kučka’s peachy first cross.
Such were the complex permutations in Group E that this single goal put Slovakia top of the group and Romania bottom. Ten minutes later and he turned again. Romania equalized from the penalty spot by Marin, who again broke away in wild-man delight. But the spot-kick was only awarded after lengthy deliberation by VAR after referee Daniel Siebert initially saw David Hanko bring down Yanis Hagi and judged the foul to be outside the penalty area. In fairness to the German official, it looked like the first contact was offside, but Hanko followed it up to catch Hagi for a second time in the box and the decision was overturned.
A delighted Iordanescu said the result marked a historic moment for his country, a new set of heroes to replace the golden generation coached by his father Angel. “I think people will be proud of this team for a long time. These guys deserve everything for who they are. We gave it our all, we never gave up. Today didn’t go well at the start but we came back. I am proud of them and now we will continue; with heart, intelligence and balance.”
A quick guide Euro 2024: last 16 matches
show
Saturday June 29
Switzerland v Italy (Berlin, 5pm, all times BST)
Germany vs Denmark (Dortmund, 20:00)
Sunday June 30
England v Slovakia (Gelsenkirchen, 17:00)
Spain v Georgia (Cologne, 20:00)
Monday, July 1
France v Belgium (Dusseldorf, 17:00)
Portugal vs Slovenia (Frankfurt, 20:00)
Tuesday July 2
Romania vs Netherlands (Munich, 17:00)
Austria vs Turkey (Leipzig, 20:00)
About 10 minutes into the second half, something extraordinary happened. A peal of thunder so loud it drowned out the noise of 50,000 fans heralded the sudden and completely unexpected arrival of a huge storm that within minutes dumped torrential rain on the players. It was like playing in the open sea, a drastic change in conditions that man of the match Stanislav Lobotka said he had never experienced before. But this did not affect the pace of the game in the least. It was only in the closing stages, when the game was marred by a steady stream of reserves as well as everything else, that the sides seemed prepared to accept a result that suited them both.
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“It means a lot because I remember where we started,” Slovakia’s Italian coach Francesco Calzona said of his team’s qualification. “We were number 55 in the world, so to get here, the last 16, with a very good qualifying round, makes me really proud – but when this team plays good football, I’m happy.”
Calzona praised his opponents, as Iordanescu did for the Slovaks, and both coaches praised the fans who made the match such an occasion. All four sides of the pitch roared at the final whistle and joined in for a sweet rendition of Freed from Desire. “I saw that most of the fans are Romanian, but I like Romanians,” Calzano said. “We’re a small country but I’m happy to make the fans happy.”
For Iordanescu, pride was more intuitive. “I don’t know what we can do in the future, but I have to take a moment to greet the fans. Almost the entire stadium was dressed in yellow. They have followed us to the hotel through town and on trips and I want them to know that the boys are aware of the support they are giving. This is absolutely amazing and I hope it continues. Romania has talent and potential. It has found its spirit and must never lose it again.”
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