Everyone was nearly looking at the shocking possibility of the World Cup finalists being eliminated by Romania’s two draws against them but mighty Holland kept them at bay. Second half goals from Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Robin Van Persie put the result beyond doubt and there was no hope left for Romania to qualify with Italy winning 2-0 against France. Romania’s adventure ended yesterday in the Euros finishing third in Group C ahead of France with 2 points.

Netherlands:
16 Maarten Stekelenburg
3 John Heitinga
6 Demy de Zeeuw
7 Robin van Persie (goal)
8 Orlando Engelaar
11 Arjen Robben
14 Wilfred Bouma
15 Tim de Cler
19 Klaas Jan Huntelaar (goal)
20 Ibrahim Afellay
21 Khalid Boulahrouz

Romania:
1 Bogdan Lobonţ
2 Cosmin Contra
3 Răzvan Raţ
4 Gabriel TamaÅŸ
5 Cristian Chivu
8 Paul Codrea
10 Adrian Mutu
11 Răzvan Cociş
14 Sorin Ghionea
16 Bănel Nicoliţă
18 Marius Niculae

Referee: Massimo Busacca

Mutu put Romania ahead after a mix up in the Italian defence only for Panucci to equalise barely a minute later. Both teams are still in the tournament, Italy will be relieved after a scare and Romania disappointed, they might just have missed their chance, Mutu seemed to know that as he struggled to hold back tears as he was substituted near the end.

The Real One

“I don’t know if Italy’s defenders are sleeping calmly at night because Mutu is one of the best forwards in Italy and Europe,” said Chivu. “He scored 17 [Serie A] goals this season and has played for many years in Italy. If Mr PiÅ£urcă selects him, I’m sure we will see the real Adrian Mutu and not the Mutu you saw against France.”

Better Organised; More Motivated

“This team is at least as strong as the team of 2000 but it’s better organised and more motivated,” said Chivu. “There’s been a lot of frustration for the last eight years and now we want to prove we are not a generation of losers. We want to show we can play at the highest level and we are going to prove it.”

Romania’s best chance came from a Mutu freekick in the second half, he had been felled by Sagnol, but he couldn’t get his kick round the wall. The yellow shirts were well supported in the stands at the Letzigrund Stadion with vocal Romanian fans.

The only other European Championships finals match between the two was in England in 1966, when a Christophe Dugarry goal was enough for France to win 1-0.

The Romanian team for today’s game is:

Bogdan Lonut Lobont (GK)
Cosmin Marius Contra
Dorin Goian
Razvan Rat
Gabriel Tamas
Mirel Matei Radoi
Cristian Chivu (C)
Razvan Cocis
Adrian Mutu
Daniel Niculae
Banel Nicolita

Romania look set to line up in a 4-3-3 formation for kick-off

Having to play in this edition’s Group of Death is no easy task. However, Romania may have a small chance of impressing in Switzerland/Austria 2008, and one of the main contributors may be Stuttgart’s 22-year old (2^nd Oct 1985) striker Ciprian Marica. The young Romanian has joined the German team in the summer of 2007 from Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported 8 million Euros, a record fee for Stuttgart.

About Marica, Stuttgart’s sporting director said: “Ciprian is a very flexible forward, and a permanent thorn in the side of any opposition defence, who fits outstandingly into our team.” The Romanian striker has scored twice in 16 appearances for Stuttgart, but seems to perform better at the international level, scoring 7 goals in 22 appearances for Romania. The player is known for his pace and for his dribbling ability. He will be the most dangerous Romanian player that the other teams in Group C will have to look out for when they face the group underdogs.

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