The defeat by Ukraine was an insult to Romania. The only goal was scored in their own net, which resulted in the host country losing all chances of reaching the play-offs ahead of schedule. After that, local media reminded the president of the Romanian Football Federation of his loud statements in April this year about winning the tournament. Local journalists reacted harshly to the team's performance, writing that the Romanian youth team had failed in the game and the tournament as a whole. This was not a surprise, as the team was weak, but no one thought that Romania would lose all chances of success so quickly.
Gazeta Sporturilor
"Ukraine didn't beat us, it laughed at us," is the headline of the deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta Sporturilor's report on the match. He talks about how he felt humiliated after the game, as Romania simply does not know how to play football.
"I didn't plan to write anything after the match between the Romanian and Ukrainian youth teams. But during the game I changed my mind. Why? The feeling of humiliation I felt after the last matches. When we played against Spain, it was a very high level opponent. It was unpleasant when we conceded goal after goal, but such a defeat is understandable. But when you lose to Ukraine so easily...
Just let's see how Ukraine really makes fun of us because of the football they play. This is too much! We organise this European Championship to please the fans, and the Romanian national team plays anything but football!
Ukraine didn't beat us, they laughed at us, mocked us, call it what you want! The Ukrainians passed our defence with extreme ease. It seemed that they were following routes that had been drawn long ago. They acted easily and calmly. We played only individually, without a hint of teamwork. When we got the ball, we didn't know what to do with it! But the coach enlightened us at the conference after the match, blaming the referee for not giving us a penalty. We also had bad luck, because we conceded a goal that we had scored ourselves! It would have been better for the coach to resign than to say this nonsense and not see us trampled on the pitch as if we were playing professionals against amateurs! In April, the president of the football federation said that "we will be kicked out of the country if we don't win Euro 2023". We won't do it anymore. Will the prediction come true?"
Ziare
"The scandalous match between Romania and Ukraine at the European Youth Championship" - Ziare journalists write that the match ended in a scandal. First, Vanat was sent off for rude behaviour, and the fans chanted "Resignation, resignation" at coach Emil Sandoi.
"Romania U-21 and Ukraine U-21 met in the second round of Group B of the European Youth Championship. After losing the first match to Spain with a score of 0:3, Romania was defeated again at the European Championships with a score of 0:1, thus destroying its chances of leaving the group. The only goal in the match was actually an autogol, which was signed by Dicăn, who became the main loser in the 89th minute, scoring a goal in his own net.
In the first half, the Romanians did not threaten the visitors' goal, although Luis Munteanu and Petryla tried to disturb the Ukrainian goalkeeper. Then there was a save by Tirnovianu in the 11th minute after Kashchuk's shot. The same player ran away one-on-one with Tirnovianu, but failed to beat the Romanian in the 24th minute, and in the 37th minute Kashchuk received the ball in the penalty area and, again finding himself alone with the goalkeeper, shot past. Romania had their first big chance in the 43rd minute when Markovic shot, but Trubin saved his shot.
The second half of the game at the Gença Stadium began with an attack by the visitors. Ukraine almost scored a goal in the 56th minute when Sikan hit the crossbar from close range. The young Romanians responded with a shot past the goal by Dragos Albu, and the Ukrainians again missed a great chance. Still, the visitors scored the only goal of the match, albeit with the help of a Romanian player. It was the second defeat and effectively a farewell to the tournament.
After the match, the Unity Under the Tricolour fan group again made a ruckus, throwing torches that sent thick smoke onto the pitch. They also chanted obscene slogans against the Federation. The match ended with a chant of "Resignation, resignation!" addressed to coach Emil Shandoy".
Hotnews
"The morale is at zero," a journalist from Hotnews says that the Romanian national team has disappointed everyone. And it's not even about the two defeats, but about the fact that the team played very poorly and deservedly lost their chances of making the play-offs after two rounds. And the coach's words about the failure look strange, as he had to take responsibility for these unwilling defeats.
"Romania's U-21 team dropped out of the European Championships in the group stage after just two games. In Saturday's match, the Tricolour lost to Ukraine (0:1), while Spain beat Croatia 1-0, securing a place in the quarter-finals alongside Ukraine. The Romanian national team is co-hosting the U-21 European Championship with Georgia, so fans had high hopes of reaching the playoffs, but Emil Sandoi's team has already effectively left the competition after two games.
Having suffered a humiliating defeat against Spain, the Tricolour also arbitrarily lost a match against Ukraine. There was only hope for Croatia's victory over Spain, but it did not materialise. The Iberians took the lead from the first minute thanks to Abel Ruiz, and the table remained unchanged until the end, despite the Croatian persistence.
Thus, Romania has mathematically lost all chances and dropped out of the final tournament it is hosting, and the match with Croatia will be a simple friendly that will not solve anything. Both teams will be the first to leave the tournament. Romania will face Croatia on 27 June at 21:45 in a match that will take place at the Stiau Stadium.
Anton Prokopov
