Romania have ended a near-quarter-century drought with their first win at a major tournament since beating England at Euro 2000, and done so in style.
Edward Iordanecu’s side stunned Ukraine and delighted their noisy legion of fans in Munich with a rapturously acclaimed 3-0 win.
After veteran Nicolae Stanciu punished a distribution error by Real Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin with a superb 29th-minute strike Romania swept their opponents away.
Eight minutes into the second period Razvan Marin added a second, also from distance, with Lunin again at fault. Shortly before the hour Denis Dragus turned in a cross from Dennis Man from a neat short-corner routine.
Ukraine had more than 70 per cent possession but rarely looked like scoring once Romania went ahead. Of their 13 shots only two were on target. Romania also hit the post – directly from a Stanciu corner.
It was Romania’s first tournament match sine Euro 2016, when Iordanescu’s father Anghel was coach.
The match was a desperate disappointment for a Ukraine side seeking to give their beleaguered homeland some cheer.
In Munich prior to the match parts of a stand from Kharkiv’s Sonyachny stadium, that was built for Euro 2012 and destroyed in 2022 by Russian troops, was on display to highlight the damage done to the country’s infrastructure by the invasion.
Elsewhere 20 truckloads of turf were delivered to the fourth division Stuttgarter Kickers’ stadium to relay the pitch after Switzerland, whose designated base it is, refused to train on it.
The Swiss, who beat Hungary 3-1 in their opening game, have been using VfB Stttgart’s training ground instead.
Meanwhile,a German Youtuber who managed to penetrate security to gatecrash the opening match between Germany and Scotland in Munich, has been given a stadium ban for the rest of the tournament. Marvin Wildhage gained entry armed with fake accreditation and a mascot costume.
with agencies