Belgium faces Romania on Saturday after suffering the biggest shock of the European Championship so far after losing its opening Group E game against Slovakia, 1-0. The No. 3-ranked team in the world ended a 14-game unbeaten streak.
Romania beat Ukraine, 3-0, in its opening game to top the group.
Here’s what to know about the match:
— Romania will advance to the round of 16 by beating Belgium. A draw is also likely to see it advance, with no team having failed to make the knockout round of the Euros with four points.
— Belgium’s shock defeat likely brought back bad memories of the 2022 World Cup when it was eliminated at the group stage in Qatar, despite having gone into the tournament ranked No. 2 in the world.
— Romania’s win against Ukraine was its first at the Euros in 24 years.
— Romelu Lukaku was the leading scorer in Euros qualifying with 14 goals — ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (10), Kylian Mbappé (nine) and Harry Kane (eight). He suffered a frustrating game vs. Slovakia, having two goals ruled out by VAR.
— Nicolae Stanciu was outstanding in Romania’s win against Ukraine and scored one of the goals of the tournament with a long-range effort. He also nearly scored directly from a corner kick, which hit the bar.
— Romania has not reported any injury concerns.
— Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen and Arthur Theate did not play against Slovakia, having been injury doubts for that game.
— Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time leading scorer with 85 goals. His 14 goals in qualifying set a new record for the Euros.
— Romania’s Dennis Man leads in assists (2) in the Euros.
— Romania’s 3-0 win against Ukraine was its biggest ever at the Euros.
— Belgium is ranked fifth overall with possession percentage (56%).
— The loss against Slovakia was Belgium’s first defeat under coach Domenico Tedesco, who took over after the last World Cup and has won 10 of his 15 games in charge.
— “It’s a difficult game, totally different from the first. However, we have courage, belief in ourselves, and we know what we can do.” — Romania midfielder Ianis Hagi.
— “The only thing that we didn’t do well (against Slovakia) was missing chances. We had plenty. It’s part of the game.” — Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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