When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups?
Belgium and Romania meet in their Second Group E match at UEFA EURO 2024.
Belgium and Romania at a glance
When: Sunday 23 June (03:00 GMT+8 kick-off)
Where: Cologne Stadium
What: UEFA EURO 2024 Group E Matchday 2
What do you need to know?
As many predicted, these sides come into this Matchday 2 fixture after contrasting fortunes in their opening games. Few, though, expected it would be Romania making the running in Group E after a scintillating performance against Ukraine – the nation’s first EURO win in 24 years. How do you possibly follow that up? By winning again and sealing a last-16 spot, perhaps?
Beware the wounded tiger, though. Belgium are smarting after their surprise defeat by Slovakia but, after they had two goals ruled out and squandered a host of good chances on Monday, there is a sense that lightning won’t strike twice; trust the process. Domenico Tedesco’s team were 14 matches unbeaten going into the tournament and a return to that form would get them back on track.
Possible line-ups
Belgium: Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate; Tielemans, Onana, De Bruyne; Doku, Lukaku, Bakayoko
Romania: Niță; Rațiu, Burcă, Drăgușin, Bancu; R. Marin, M. Marin, Stanciu; Man, Drăguș, Coman
Form guide
Belgium:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LWWDDW
Romania:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDDLDW
Expert predictions
David D’Hondt, Belgium reporter
The message from the Belgium camp after their shock 1-0 loss to Slovakia in Monday’s group opener is simple: keep calm and carry on. Coach Domenico Tedesco and his players have reviewed the performance and say there was little to fault – just one of those things. The result means there will be almost no margin for error when Belgium take on a Romania side riding the crest of a wave following their 3-0 win against Ukraine.
Cristina Tache, Romania reporter
If you had said before the tournament that one of these sides would come into this game off the back of a defeat, and the other one a rousing 3-0 win, not many would have picked Romania for the latter. Yet what has been noticeable at their Würzburg base is just how quick the euphoria has been dampened, and sights adjusted to Belgium. Edward Iordănescu has been doing a lot of work on counterattacking and pressing opposition forwards, so both tactics will doubtless be central to the game plan.
What the camps say
Jan Vertonghen, Belgium defender: “We are still masters of our own destiny when it comes to qualifying for the next round, we still have matters in our own hands. In my opinion, we’re still the best team in the group. It’s not the start we imagined or hoped for, but we must try to stay positive and not be overly dramatic.”
Edward Iordănescu, Romania coach, to his players: “Romania, don’t forget: we already have points under our belts; we are riding this wave! You are all good players, you are players who can break the mould; you can do this! Let’s get them! Let’s do this again, Romania!”