After shaky group stage, Netherlands still favored against Romania
The Peninsula
Munich: Romania plays the Netherlands on Tuesday in the round of 16 at the European Championship. Kickoff is at 7pm Doha time (1600 GMT). The Netherla...
Munich: Romania plays the Netherlands on Tuesday in the round of 16 at the European Championship. Kickoff is at 7pm Doha time (1600 GMT). The Netherlands have traditionally dominated this fixture but the Dutch also hadn’t lost to Austria since 1990 - until last week. Romania topped its group while a disappointing Netherlands team progressed as one of the four best third-place teams. Despite the problems, the Netherlands will be favoured to overcome Romania, potentially giving Ronald Koeman's team another shot at Austria in the quarterfinals. Here’s what to know about the match:
Match facts - Romania finished top of its group thanks mainly to a 3-0 win against Ukraine in Munich in their opening fixture. They then lost 2-0 against Belgium and drew 1-1 against Slovakia as all four teams in the section finished with four points - a European Championship first.
- The Netherlands started its Euro 2024 campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Poland, but then drew 0-0 against France before losing a thrilling match 3-2 to Austria. That saw Austria top the group and relegated the Dutch to third, below France.
- The winner will advance to face Austria or Turkey in the quarterfinals on Saturday. That could see a quick rematch between the Netherlands and Austria in Berlin.
- This is only Romania’s second time in the knockout stage of the European Championship. It reached the quarterfinals in 2000.
