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While it might not be a surprise to see Romania and the Netherlands facing each other in the last 16, it perhaps is to see them in this fixture after the former came top of their group and the latter finished third in theirs.
That’s what happened, though, with Romania topping Group E on just four points ahead of Belgium, while the Netherlands came third in Group D on the same number of points, below Austria and France.
This is the first time Romania have reached the knockout stage of a major tournament (World Cup/Euros) since Euro 2000, when they were eliminated by Italy at the quarter-final stage. The Tricolorii have only progressed from one knockout tie in major competitions in their history, beating Argentina 3-2 in the 1994 World Cup last 16.
The Netherlands have lost each of their last three knockout-stage matches at the UEFA European Championship, beaten by Portugal in the 2004 semi-finals, Russia in the 2008 quarter-finals, and Czech Republic in the last 16 of Euro 2020. They could become only the second nation to lose four consecutive knockout matches in the tournament’s history, after Yugoslavia from 1968 to 2000.
It was a tricky group stage for the Dutch, coming from behind to beat Poland 2-1, before a 0-0 draw with France was followed by a chaotic 3-2 defeat to Austria. They led for just 12 minutes and 27 seconds across their three matches, the fewest of any side to qualify for the knockout stage; only the eliminated Czech Republic (7:20), Hungary (2:01) and Serbia (0:00) were ahead for less time among all teams in the group stage.
Despite an impressive 3-0 win over Ukraine in their opening game, and finishing top of their group, it has not been an easy journey to this stage for Romania either. They were beaten 2-0 by Belgium before a 1-1 draw against Slovakia as they won a historic Euros group, the first ever to see all four teams finish level on points (four each).
Only Georgia (71) faced more shots among sides to qualify for the knockout rounds than Romania (46). However, the average xG per shot faced by Edward Iordănescu’s side was just 0.07, above only England (0.04) and Belgium (0.06) in the group stage, meaning the average quality of the shots they faced was the third-lowest of any team.
Cody Gakpo has been the main threat for Ronald Koeman’s men, scoring two of the Netherlands’ four goals in the group stage. The Liverpool forward could become the sixth Dutchman to score three or more goals in a single edition of the finals, after Marco van Basten (five in 1988), Dennis Bergkamp (three in 1992), Patrick Kluivert (five in 2000), Ruud van Nistelrooy (four in 2004) and Georginio Wijnaldum (three at Euro 2020).
Memphis Depay impressed on Matchday 3 against Austria, however, leading the line well after there had been calls for him to be dropped. Only Denmark‘s Rasmus Højlund (129) applied more pressures in the final third than him (108) in the group stage, with Depay recording at least 66 more than any other Dutch player, ahead of Gakpo as the next closest with 42.
Razvan Marin has scored two of Romania’s four goals, including an emphatic penalty in the draw with Slovakia. The only players to score more in a single edition of a major tournament for the country are Florin Raducioiu (four at the 1994 World Cup) and Gheorghe Hagi (three, also at the 1994 World Cup).