EURO 2024. The selector of the Romanian national football team, Edward Iordănescu, declared, on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in a press conference held in Munich, that the first representative team will give everything on the field and that it is ready to fight for every ball .
Edward Iordanescu. PHOTO Youtube capture
Romania will debut at Euro 2024, on Monday, June 17, with Ukraine. The match will take place at 16.00.
“Our debut at a final tournament is approaching and we feel this with great joy, but also with great emotion. It's a moment that we wanted so much and that we missed for eight years, but that we deserve. There is also a very big pressure, but it comes from an immense desire to represent the country and the Romanians. We wish for tomorrow and everything during the European Championship all our Romanians to be in the national team. And, if possible, let's set an example that when there is unity, spirit, work, seriousness and discipline anything is possible. So tomorrow we start confident, with enthusiasm and marked by a lot of responsibility. Our team will give everything, we are ready to fight for every meter of the field. At the same time, we are convinced that we will have an extremely serious opposition. The opponent has our full respect, but when the game starts, we have our way“, said the selector.
Asked if Russia's invasion of Ukraine gives tomorrow's opponent an additional motivation, Iordănescu avoided talking about it. He explained that from a sporting point of view, Ukraine has the advantage of experience in the final tournaments.
“I am a man of peace, I want peace, but we are at a sporting event and it is important to remain present here, especially since we do not have the ability to change anything. From a sporting point of view, I can say that Ukraine has a kind of advantage… first of all, experience. Because Ukraine is in the fourth consecutive final tournament, it was also a quarter-finalist, and that means confidence. It has 15-16 players who already have the experience of a final tournament. They are used to the stakes, because at the clubs they fight for trophies year after year. And that gives Ukraine an advantage, it gives it more balance, more confidence. But we tried to mentally prepare ourselves as best as possible for this moment and we certainly have our strengths that can compensate for the difference in experience“, he pointed out.
Regarding the recovery of the players Denis Alibec and Andrei Burcă, injured in the club teams, the Romanian coach stated: “There were medical problems. However, we have a competent medical staff, they worked 24 hours a day, we managed to put things right. There are certainly players who are not at their best for the game, but tomorrow may God help us to be inspired in all the decisions we make. At the base will be a complex analysis and I also hope to be inspired during the game with the reactions we will have from the bench. But I guarantee that mentally every player is at their maximum capacity“.
Edward Iordănescu mentioned that the Romanian national team is ready to show its best version at this final tournament.
“I wish that through everything we do at this final tournament, we give a new start to Romanian football, an example that you can perform when you do things step by step, with patience and a lot of conviction. I promise the Romanian supporters what I have promised them on other occasions, namely that this group from the national team will give everything, regardless of the moments it will go through, because we will meet the best teams. History of the national team at European championship it is not very rich and we want to do better than it was done in the past, to be an example for young people. Each individual player is prepared, the group is prepared, we are all prepared to present the best version of ourselves. We can talk about the goal of getting out of the group, we certainly want to, but we have to take it step by step” added the technician.
The national football team of Romania meets the national team of Ukraine, on Monday, at 16:00, in Munich, in its first game since the European Championship in Germany.
In the other two games in Group E, Romania will face the teams of Belgium, on June 22 in Koln, and Slovakia, on June 26 in Frankfurt.
