Slovakia qualified for the Euro 2024 main stage by finishing second in Group J during the qualifiers, accumulating 22 points from 10 matches. They only lost twice, both times to Portugal, and ended with a goal difference of 17:8. In the current tournament, Slovakia started with a surprising and challenging 1-0 victory over Belgium, with Schranz scoring an early goal. However, they couldn't maintain their lead in the second match, losing 2-1 to Ukraine. All teams in their group have 3 points after 2 rounds, but Ukraine is in the worst position due to goal difference.
Romania, on the other hand, qualified by topping their group without a single loss, winning 6 out of 10 matches. They started the current European Championship with a dominant 3-0 win over Ukraine but lost 0-2 to Belgium in the second round. Despite the loss, Romania leads their group thanks to superior goal difference.
The teams have faced each other 11 times in their history. Romania won 5 of these matches, Slovakia won once, and 5 games ended in a draw. Slovakia scored an average of 1.09 goals (12 goals) in these matches, while Romania scored 1.82 goals (20 goals). Romania's biggest victory was a 5-1 win during the Euro 2000 qualifiers.
It is possible that Slovakia is not physically prepared enough to play equally well in both halves. Calzona's team starts the first halves energetically, at least matching their opponents, as evidenced by the two goals scored before the break. However, in the games against Belgium and Ukraine, there was a decline that Sergei Rebrov's players took advantage of, but the Belgians could not, otherwise, we would not be talking about Slovakia's victory over Belgium in the first round. The match against Ukraine showed how dangerous and cold-blooded the Romanians can be after the opponent's sterile possession. The plan against Belgium was shattered by a quick goal from the "Red Devils". Here lies the flaw: the Romanians are not very good with the ball; they prefer counter-attacking play. This situation has occurred before – the Romanian national team faced difficulties in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and in friendly matches against Liechtenstein and Bulgaria (both 0:0) before heading to Germany. Slovakia is a hybrid opponent, striving to control possession and play actively in the first halves, but Calzona's team also has a formidable weapon in the form of counter-attacks, which they demonstrated in games against Portugal.
Prediction and Odds:
- Slovakia win (1): 3.25
- Draw (X): 2.12
- Romania win (2): 3.80