Romania vs Netherlands Preview & Prediction | UEFA EURO 2024 | Round of 16

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Romania surprised many by winning their group ahead of Belgium and their reward is a showdown with Netherlands, who are smarting after defeat against Austria which saw them finish third-place in Group D.

KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Tuesday 2nd July, 2024 - UK – 5:00pm / US ET – 12:00pm / US PT – 9:00am

HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – BBC / US – FOX

HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – BBC iPlayer / US –VIX

ROMANIA PREVIEW: WINNERS OF A TIGHT GROUP E SET UP DUTCH SHOWDOWN

After beating Ukraine in their opening game of EURO 2024, defeat at the hands of Belgium left Romania’s participation in the knockout stage in doubt heading into the final round of group stage fixtures. That fear was exacerbated after falling behind against Slovakia. However, an equaliser soon after from the penalty spot saw them regain control and a 1-1 draw not only proved to be enough, but also saw Romania win the group following Belgium’s 0-0 draw with Ukraine.

It's fair to say that Romania haven’t been at their best since that resounding triumph over the Ukrainians, particularly from an attacking perspective. This is the area where they’ll need to really improve and try and capitalise on Netherlands’ defensive fragilities shown across the group stage.

NETHERLANDS PREVIEW: HARSH WORDS EXPRESSED FOLLOWING AUSTRIA PERFORMANCE

A week is a long time in football and that’s exactly how long Netherlands will have had to stew over their desperately poor showing against Austria which saw them deservedly beaten by three goals to two. Ronald Koeman has found himself under-fire from the Dutch media, as have the players, with captain Virgil van Dijk forced to field heavy criticism of both him and his teammates.

However, the most important thing from a Netherlands point of view was that they made it through and now have an opportunity to put things right. The draw has also worked out extremely favourably for them when compared to likes of Group D runners-up France, who finished above Koeman’s side in the table.

ROMANIA TEAM NEWS: BANCU SUSPENDED, MAN COULD BE RECALLED

Romania will be forced into a defensive change with Nicusor Bancu suspended, although midfielder Razvan Marin should be fit to start once again after training prior to this game. Dennis Man was left on the bench against Slovakia and could come back into the side ahead of Ianis Hagi.

PREDICTED XI (4-5-1): Nita; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Mogos; Man, R. Marin, M. Marin, Stanciu, Coman; Dragus

UNAVAILABLE: Bancu (Suspended)

QUESTIONABLE: Marin (Fitness)

NETHERLANDS TEAM NEWS: CHANGE OF FORMATION AND PERSONNEL EXPECTED

It would be no surprise if Koeman reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 formation after his 4-3-3 formation was taken apart by Austria. Expect Joey Veerman to be dropped and Xavi Simons back in the XI, whilst Denzel Dumfries should also start at right-back, with either Donyell Malen or Jeremie Frimpong picked to play ahead of him.

PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay

UNAVAILABLE:

QUESTIONABLE:

KEY STATS

• The Netherlands have won ten of the previous 14 international matches between these two teams (D3 L1). Including each of the last four, one of which was a 2-0 victory in the group stage at EURO 2008 – their only previous EURO final tournament meeting.
• Romania’s only win against the Netherlands is a 1-0 home victory in October 2007 in the qualifying tournament for EURO 2008.
• The Netherlands have kept 11 clean sheets in their previous 14 international matches against Romania.
• Romania have reached the EURO knockout rounds for the first time since EURO 2000. That is the only tournament in six EURO appearances that they have qualified from their group. They bowed out in the quarter-finals against Italy on that occasion (L 2-0) and are aiming to win a EURO knockout tie for the first time.
• Romania have won only two of their 19 EURO matches (D6 L11).
• Only one of Romania’s previous 19 EURO matches has finished without a goal being scored.
• Romania have been losing at half-time in only two of their last nine EURO matches.
• Romania have kept only two clean sheets in their previous 19 EURO matches.
• The Netherlands have now qualified for the knockout rounds in eight of their last nine EURO appearances.
• The Netherlands have been successful in only two of their eight EURO knockout round ties since they won the 1988 final.
• The Netherlands have scored two or more goals in five of their last seven EURO matches.
• The Netherlands have not scored a goal in the first half of any of their last five EURO knockout round matches.

ROMANIA VS NETHERLANDS PREDICTION

Following a long post-mortem and a week to stew on such a disappointing last game, Netherlands will no doubt be fired-up here and should come out of the blocks flying, desperate to make amends and show that they can still win this tournament. Players such as Van Dijk and Gakpo should come into their own on an occasion such as this, whilst Romania are playing to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2000, which brings its own level of pressure.

On paper, Netherlands are a stronger team across the pitch and this match may come down to whether Ronald Koeman picks the right XI and sets them up effectively against a side who will look to punish their mistakes. Whilst backing Netherlands to come out on top has to be favoured, doing so via the draw no bet market for extra security is advised.

ROMANIA VS NETHERLANDS TIP: NETHERLANDS DRAW NO BET