IMPRESSIVE Romania EURO 2024 Tactic

Romania has qualified in the knock-out stage of the Euro 2024 by topping their group for the first time in their history.

Romania had a very good game against Ukraine, winning 3-0 which proved helpful for the next 2 matches.

Even though they lost against Belgium and drew with Slovakia, Romania’s game seemed to be different than what the nation is used to expect from the national team.

As many of you may know, Romania had a golden generation led by Gheorghe Hagi. And that golden generation really did wonders, even winning against a very good Argentinian team.

However, as that generation slowly retired, there was no one to live up to the same level. So, the level of football played by the national team slowly degraded.

But Edward Iordanescu and the players could turn it around and instead, reminded the fans that this national team can evoke the same emotions the golden generation did almost 30 years ago.

That is why, Edward Iordanescu asked the journalists to not dub his team as a second golden generation, but one that wants to win by desire, attitude and courage.

And so, we arrive at how the Romanian national team managed to top their group and play well.

The tactical setup seems to be a simple one, without too many complicated instructions.

A 4-1-4-1 most of the time. With a goalkeeper on defend in goal. The only thing needed from the goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the net. And Florin Nita did that very well during the group stage games.

A wing back on support on the right side. A full back on support may also work here, but Andrei Ratiu is an adventurous player, so the wing back role seems to suit him better.

A ball playing defender and a central defender on defend duty. The ball playing defender is Radu Dragusin, as he has tried to take the ball out of the defence at times, either by himself, short passes or through pinpoint long balls.

And a wing back on support on the left side. I debated if this player should have the attack duty instead, as Nicusor Bancu has ventured forward quite often. But to keep it balanced, I chose the support duty.

A defensive midfielder on defend duty in front of the defence. This role was chosen as it offers the ability for the player to participate in the attack if the possession is prolonged.

And Marius Marin has joined the attack when the opportunity presented itself.

Two wingers on support duty. The winger role was chosen as it instructs the players to stay wider. And the player instruction of cut inside was added, as both wingers cut inside often when they arrive at the opposition box.

In the central area, we have a box-to-box midfielder and a central one. On support duty. The box-to-box midfielder is a role that seems to best suit Razvan Marin. As he often defends and attacks with ease.

And the striker is a complete forward on support duty as we need a role that would have hold up ball as instruction.

As Romania has brought to this year’s Euro only strikers who are tall and strong, have a good hold up ball and can attack the goal when needed.

As mentality, positive. But one can argue that Romania seemed to play more with a cautious mentality and changed to positive only when they felt that the balance of the match changed in their favour.

In possession, fairly wide attacking width, slightly shorter passing and slightly lower tempo and play for set pieces. With a cautious mentality, the passing directness becomes standard and the tempo slightly lower.

And the be more disciplined option was chosen as to me it was clear that Edward Iordanescu has asked his players to keep the shape of the setup, attacking only within its boundaries.

In transition, surprisingly to me counter-press, even though at times. So, you may tick it off if you think it’s better.

Counter and I left the goalkeeper ball distribution part unticked as Florin Nita seemed to have taken his own decisions, depending on the game moment.

Out of possession, mid-block and standard defensive line. Even though often, Romania seemed to play with a low block and a low or very low defensive line.

But I would not recommend this setup in Football Manager 2024, as it invites a lot of pressure which does turn into a lot of goals conceded, so it beats the purpose.

Trigger press is more often, as Romania did have spells of time when they pressed their opponents quite efficiently. Mainly in the games against Ukraine and Slovakia.

And trap outside. I noticed in the games against Belgium and Slovakia that the Romanian defence left the opposition’s wingers and wing backs quite free on the touchline, choosing the crowd the box instead.

What Romania achieved at the Euro 2024 so far is important for 2 reasons. It brings the team even closer to the fans and strengthens the bond. And it gives the Romanians the chance to cheer for their national in a very, very long time.