Romania at EURO 2024
The European football championship - EURO 2024 kicks off in Germany today
Mihai Pelin, 14.06.2024, 13:50
The European Football Championship kicks off in Germany. Until July 14, Europe’s top teams will be competing for the European title. EURO 2024 brings together 24 teams in six groups of four teams each, including Romania, which was drawn in Group E, alongside Belgium, Ukraine and Slovakia. Romania will debut against Ukraine, and then it will play Belgium and Slovakia. The early objective is to move past the group phase in this edition of the European Championship. Romania’s team is rated at 91 mln EUR on the transfer market, the lowest among participating teams. Albania has a more valuable team, valued at 139 mln EUR, while Romania’s opponent, Slovakia, is worth 161 mln EUR. Belgium is rated at 669 mln EUR, while Ukraine at 534 mln EUR. The absolute leader in the standings is England (1.69 bln EUR), followed by France (1.41 bln EUR) and Portugal (1.22 bln EUR).
This is the 6th time Romania is taking part in the European Championship, after 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. Romania will be represented at EURO 2024 by a brigade of referees, consisting of Istvan Kovacs (center), Vasile Marinescu, Ovidiu Artene (sideline) and Cătălin Popa (VAR). Each team will play three group matches, playing each opponent in the group once. The top two teams in each group advance to the round of 16, along with the best four teams in third place. In the event of a tie between at least two teams from the same group, the tiebreaker will consist in the number of points, goal average and the number of goals scored in direct matches. In terms of prizes, UEFA will award 331 million EUR to the 24 participants, the same as for the 2020 edition, the lowest standing at 9.2 mln EUR for securing qualification to the group phase. In addition, each win in the group phase will be rewarded with 1 mln EUR, and each draw with 500,000 EUR. Qualifying to the round of 16 brings a bonus of 1.5 mln EUR, while securing presence in the quarter-finals another 2.5 mln EUR. The semi-finalists will receive another 4 mln EUR. The runner-up in the final receives 5 mln EUR, and the champion will be rewarded with 8 mln EUR. So, the team that wins the European title this year will also win a lot of money.
Spain is the only one that defended its title (2008 and 2012). The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), victorious in 1972, failed to defend its title in 1976, losing the final to Czechoslovakia (2-2, 5-3 at the penalty shootout). Germany is targeting a fourth European title (after the ones won in 1972, 1980 and 1996), which would mark a new record. Italy, the 2021 champions, will try to become the second nation to retain their continental trophy. The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo is the best scorer in the history of the European Championship, with 14 goals scored since 2004, ahead of Michel Platini of France with 9 goals. (VP)
