Slovakia and Romania tied at one goal on Matchday 3 of the Eurocupenough to qualify for the round of 16 of the tournament.
The ‘Tricolores’ will return to the knockout phase for the first time since 2000; while the ‘Falcons’ will reappear in that instance after their classification in 2016. For Romania it will be the first time that they do so as leaders, and Slovakia returns again as third place.
From the start of the match, both teams showed ambition, trying to control the ball and going forward, but the attacks failed to open the scoring.
It was in the 24th minute that Ondrej Duda scored the first of the afternoon with a powerful header, after a clever cross from Juraj Kucka.
Slovakia went forward trying to extend their advantage, but when they were closest to achieving it came the ‘Tricolores’ tie.
David Hancko vehemently tackled Ianis Hagi, but the midfielder left him in his path and entered the area; However, he fell suddenly and the center-back conceded a foul on the sidelines. After the VAR review, it was determined that the contact that knocked Hagi down occurred inside, which is why a penalty was awarded.
Răzvan Marin was in charge of collecting from the 11 steps and he did not disappoint; He deceived the goalkeeper and placed the ball in the corner.
In the second half, Slovakia took control of the game, with timid arrivals that demanded very little from Florin Nita.
For its part, Romania knew that a draw was enough to qualify and decided to sit back waiting for the opponent to be in a bad position to counterpunch; However, he was unable to extend his lead.
Now, the ‘Tricolor’ will face third place in Group C or D; while the ‘Falcones’ await a rival.
A controversial penalty puts Romania in the fight
