Belgium - Romania predictions and free betting tips [22/06/2024]

On 22 June, at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, an intriguing Group E clash between Belgium and Romania is set to unfold. 

Belgium

Belgium, under the management of former Spartak coach Domenico Tedesco, has come to the Euros as the favourite of the group but stumbled in their opening match against Slovakia, despite being the superior side. Belgium’s attack, featuring Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard, and Romelu Lukaku, created several chances in the first half but failed to convert them. Forty-eighth in the FIFA rankings, Slovakia continued the tournament's trend of early goals. Ivan Schranz capitalised on Belgium’s defensive mishap and scored from Juraj Kucka’s pass just seven minutes into the match.

Belgium could not create any significant opportunities for the rest of the first half. Trossard, who had an outstanding season with Arsenal, struggled, and Tedesco surprisingly substituted him only in the 74th minute. Belgium, which crashed out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, echoed those past failures and handed the victory away. Romelu Lukaku thought he had equalised twice, including once in the dying minutes, but both goals were ruled out by VAR.

Early in the second half, Lukaku scored again, but a marginal offside ruled it out, denying him a deserved goal. Belgium kept the pressure on, and Slovakia didn’t register a single shot on target in the second half. Lukebakio and Openda came on late, with the latter assisting Lukaku, but the goal was disallowed for a handball. Tedesco’s team often looked puzzled by Slovakia’s tight defence and had a mediocre performance. Doku provided a lot of ineffective dribbling, and Trossard made many errors. The young midfield duo of Vranckx and Onana occasionally struggled. Slovakia’s deserved victory was also preserved by a courageous block from defender David Hancko, who took a knee to the face from a teammate in the 65th minute.

Romania

Romania, with the lowest squad value at the Euros, produced the first big shock in Group E, thrashing Ukraine 3-0. Edward Iordănescu’s side deservedly took all three points, dominating throughout the game. Goals from captain Nicolae Stanciu, Răzvan Marin, and Denis Drăguș on Monday gave Romania their second-ever win at the Euros, after their 3-2 triumph over England at Euro 2000. In the 29th minute, Nicolae Stanciu opened the scoring with a strike into the top corner after a blunder by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who had earlier punched the ball straight to Dennis Man.

Ukraine didn’t have many chances to respond before halftime. Early in the second half, on the 53rd minute, Răzvan Marin doubled the lead with a low shot into the bottom corner following another Lunin error, this time letting the ball slip through his hands. Just four minutes later, on the 57th minute, Denis Drăguș added a third, converting a pass from Man. This was the final blow for Ukraine, who couldn’t recover from the onslaught.

Edward Iordănescu is the first manager to lead Romania in a European Championship since his father, Anghel, in 2016. He called his players the “generation of soul.” “Fantastic effort from my team. If you had any doubts, now you can believe as I do that this is a great team,” Iordănescu said the day after his 46th birthday. Romania stunned everyone with their quality play and hopes to pull off another surprise against Belgium.

Head-to-Head

In the history of clashes between Romania and Belgium, there have been five matches, with Romania winning three and Belgium two. Their last encounter was a friendly in 2012, where Romania won 2-1. A similar outcome occurred on 13 October 1993, during World Cup qualification, where Romania triumphed 1-0. Belgium’s last victory over Romania came in a 2-1 friendly win on 11 November 2011.

Prediction: Belgium vs Romania

Belgium deserved at least a draw in their first group match but only have themselves to blame for not finishing their chances. Romania, on the other hand, surprised everyone with their dominant performance against a strong Ukrainian side. In this match, the Romanians are likely to play defensively, while a determined Belgium will look to break through. I think Romania has the capability to score against Belgium’s relatively inexperienced defence, as Vertonghen, Kompany, and Alderweireld are no longer in the squad. The young duo of Debast and Faes are yet to prove their reliability. I’m betting on “both teams to score.”

Total Goals Prediction

This tournament has been very high-scoring, and the total over 2.5 goals looks like a good bet. Considering Belgium's firepower, they might score what they couldn't against Slovakia. The individual skill level between the teams is significantly different.