Belgium vs Romania Match Prediction
European Championship
Cologne Stadium
A huge mistake from Doku in the buildup saw Slovakia capitalize, with Schranz scoring as early as the 7th minute. The creativity of De Bruyne and Trossard did not come through, as Belgium failed to create many. In the second half, they were better and did find the back of the net on two occasions, both through Lukaku, but they were ruled out by VAR. One because Lukaku was offside in the buildup, and the other because Openda handled the ball before Lukaku scored. Belgium could not break the resolve of the Slovaks, and when they did, it wouldn’t count.
Romania proved in their first game that dominating possession means nothing, and it is the chances you take that end up winning games. Romania also had Ukrainian keeper Lunin to thank, as he made a blunder, allowing Stanciu to score first. Razwan Marin doubled their lead just after halftime, giving Ukraine a big blow early. 4 minutes later, they killed off the game as Denis Dragus scored Romania’s third of the night, giving us our second upset in the group.
Facts:
- Belgium and Romania have played each other on quite a few occasions; however, this will be the first time that these two nations will be meeting in a major competition. Belgium and Romania have never faced off in the Euros or the World Cup. The last time these two teams played against each other was in 2012, which saw Romania beat Belgium 2-1.
- Belgium in general has always started group stages in a positive fashion by winning games. The Red Devils come into this on the back of a loss and have never lost their first two games in the Euros. The last time they lost their first two games in a major competition was at the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.
- Since 1994, Romania has not been a major force in football like it was before. They defied the odds and beat Ukraine for a win, and if they beat Belgium, then it will be only the third time since 1994 that they have registered two or more victories in a major competition. In the 1994 World Cup, they had 3 wins, and in the 1998 World Cup, they had 2 wins.
- Belgium have now not won any of their last three games in major competitions, drawing one and losing two, including the defeat to Slovakia in the first game. Before this run, Belgium had just one defeat in 14 group stage games in major competitions, including the World Cup and the Euros.
- Romania, in their last game, ended up beating Ukraine 3-0 on the day. They created history, as that was their highest goal-scoring win ever in major tournaments. This is also only the second time that they have scored three or more goals in the Euros, with them last doing it in the 2000 edition, where they scored four goals. A goal against Belgium can tie that record.
Belgium vs Romania: Chance of Winning
When it comes to the head-to-head record, no team has outright dominated the other. In the total of 12 fixtures played between these two teams in all competitions, Belgium has won five times, and two games have ended in a draw, with Romania winning five. Romania did end up beating Belgium the last time these two teams played. Alexandru Maxim and Gabriel Tortje scored for România, turning the game around, as Benteke opened the scoring for Belgium.
Romania go into this game knowing that they just need a point from two games to qualify for the knockouts. Hence, it remains to be seen if they can produce a defensive display to keep Belgium out. Their defensive stats are good, and they are a team capable of locking down. Belgium against Slovakia did end up getting frustrated as they failed to break them down.
The Belgian attack will need to be clinical on Sunday, or they will face elimination. The big players in the mould of Trossard, De Bruyne, and Lukaku need to step up and play a big role in beating Romania. This is surely not going to be an easy tie, considering the beliefs Romania has. We still believe that Belgium has a better chance of winning, but not by a large margin.
Belgium vs Romania: Predictions and Betting Tips
According to the bookmakers, Belgium goes into this game as big odds-on favourites to beat Romania on Sunday. Belgium started off this edition of the Euros in the most disastrous way possible, as they were beaten by Slovakia. Romania had a shock of their own as they ended up beating a good Ukrainian side. On another day, the gap between these two would have been bigger in terms of odds. Belgium are still overwhelming favourites to win this game due to their better players.
It was not supposed to be Belgium’s day against Slovakia, as they registered an expected goal ratio of 1.7 and scored none on the day, which shows how unlucky they were. Slovakia, on the other hand, had an xG of 0.57, and they scored a goal and won the game. Belgium has the quality to attack. In this calendar year, they average 2.2 goals per game, and hence, we believe they will indeed get their shooting boots back for this game.
Romania, on the other hand, were deserved winners against Ukraine in their first game. They were well drilled in defence and took their chances well, although some of their goals were stunners, hence their expected goal tally being low. Romania had an xG of 1.2 in the game and scored 3 goals, showing that they are capable of getting goals in the toughest of scenarios. Romania will not be the highest-scoring team in 2024, as they average only 1.5 goals per game.
Based on these numbers and past fixtures taken into account, here are our tips and predictions for this game. We believe that this game will have goals. Belgium especially needs to get their campaign started so we can see them going extra attacking in this game. That could also leave them vulnerable at the back, as their defence is quite poor.
In terms of goals, we expect both teams to score a combined tally of three or more goals. We also expect both Belgium and Romania to score in this game. Belgium have a good attack, but their defence does look weak at times. They do make the odd mistake in terms of concentration which leaves them stranded at times. In 2024, they conceded 0.6 goals, but their performance in the first game doesn’t assure us of a clean sheet here.
We expect Belgium to win this game by a goal margin. We do not see them outright dominating Romania in this game. We back Romania to make things difficult for them in this tie. Romania has also been really good defensively in 2024, conceding just 0.5 goals. They are defensively better than Belgium in terms of stats.
In terms of scoring for Belgium, we continue to back Romelu Lukaku to make his mark in this game. He had a horrid night against Slovakia, where he had two goals ruled out for offside and handball. It was an unlucky day, as those mistakes were such fine margins that on another day would have taken Belgium convincingly to a victory. Lukaku still has a very good record of scoring in the Euros, especially in the group stage. The striker has scored a total of 11 goals in the Euros. Nine of those 11 goals have come in the group stage. We back Lukaku to overcome the horrors of the last game and go into this one as the favourite to score.
Final prediction:Belgium will beat Romania.
Belgium Player List
Goalkeepers:Matz Sels, Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski
Defenders: Wout Faes, Timothy Castagne, Arthur Theate, Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, Zeno Debast, Thomas Meunier, Maxim De Cuyper
Midfielders:Aster Vranckx, Youri Tielemans, Orel Mangala, Kevin De Bruyne, Arthur Vermeeren, Amadou Onana
Forwards:Romelu Lukaku, Charles De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Lois Openda, Leandro Trossard, Johan Bakayoko, Dodi Lukebakio, Yannick Carrasco
Serbia Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Koen Casteels |
Goalkeeper |
|
Wout Faes |
Defender |
|
Axel Witsel |
Defender |
|
Thomas Meunier, |
Defender |
|
Timothy Castagne |
Defender |
|
Orel Mangala |
Midfielder |
|
Amadou Onana |
Midfielder |
|
Kevin De Bruyne |
Midfielder |
|
Jeremy Doku |
Attacker |
|
Romelu Lukaku |
Attacker |
|
Leandro Trossard |
Attacker |
Belgium Team Form(Last five games): L, W, W, D, D
Romania Player List
Goalkeepers:Florin Nița, Horatiu Moldovan, Ștefan Tarnovanu
Defenders:Nicușor Bancu, Andrei Burca, Ionuț Nedelcearu, Adrian Rus, Andrei Ratiu, Radu Dragusin, Vasile Mogoș, Bogdan Racovitan
Midfielders:Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin, Alexandru Cicaldau, Ianis Hagi, Dennis Man, Valentin Mihaila, Marius Marin, Darius Olaru, Deian Sorescu, Florinel Coman, Adrian Sut
Forwards:George Puscas, Denis Alibec, Denis Dragus, Daniel Birligea
Romania Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Horatiu Moldovan |
Goalkeeper |
|
Darius Olaru |
Defender |
|
Vasile Mogoș |
Defender |
|
Bogdan Racovitan |
Defender |
|
Radu Dragusin |
Defender |
|
Adrian Sut |
Midfielder |
|
Alexandru Cicaldau |
Midfielder |
|
Ianis Hagi |
Midfielder |
|
Florinel Coman |
Attacker |
|
Deian Sorescu |
Attacker |
|
George Puscas |
Attacker |
Romania Team Form(Last five games): W, D, D, L, D
Belgium vs Romania Head-To-Head
Matches Played:9
Belgium wins:5
Romania wins:5
Matches are drawn:2
Belgium vs Romania Betting Odds
Belgium to win the match (PARIMATCH): 1.47.
Romania to win the match (PARIMATCH): 7.08.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 4.68.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Belgium
Belgium, however, has some very good players who, when they turn on, can certainly change the game entirely. We expect Captain De Bruyne to show up in this game and turn the tide for Belgium. An attacking Belgium team is a dangerous outfit, and they have no choice but to go for this game. Hence, we back Belgium to win this game 2-1 against Romania.
Parimatch