Sports Flash

The Romanian national football team returns to Romania with their heads held high.

Radio România Internațional, 04.07.2024, 13:45

Romania’s national football delegation Wednesday night returned from Germany where they participated in EURO 2024. It was late at night, yet at the national football team’s traditional training premises, the Mogosoaia Football Centre, the footballers were welcomed by a couple of hundreds of supporters. The national football team’s captain, Nicolae Stanciu, was keen on extending his thanks to the fans:

” I hope we’ve succeeded to make you proud. I can see very many children here. For us, that means everything, as we want to be role models for this generation, for Romania’s children, we want to set up positive examples, so they can have somebody to learn from. We’re happy because they’re here, because they love us, then again, I want to thank you. I saw you in the stands, I got your messages all throughout the tournament and I believe the entire Romania was our first player and not the twelfth one. “

Arriving in Bucharest were only 16 of the 26 footballers that initially departed for EURO 2024. The others began their vacations straight away or returned to the clubs they belonged to, already starting training for the new competition season.

The national squad’s run at EURO 2024 practically brought the fans closer to the national team, which last took part in a final tournament eight years ago. Tens of thousands of Romanians celebrated the team’s results in the stands, but also on the streets of Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt, the German towns that hosted the matches played by the Romanians. We recall the Romanian national team has met its set target, that of going past the group stage. The national team accomplished that, emerging as winners of Group E. Romania defeated Ukraine, 3-nil, lost to Belgium, nil-2, and drew against Slovakia, 1-all.

The national squad then sustained a nil-3 defeat by Netherlands in EURO 2024’s round of 16. The Romanian national team’s upcoming matches are scheduled in September 2024. In the first stage as part of the League of Nations’ C2 Group, Romania goes against Kosovo on September 6, away, then on September 9 Romania plays Lithuania at home.