The Dutch inherited the most affordable group leader in the round of 16 on Tuesday. But Romania has the ability to challenge the biggest European teams.
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The Netherlands are rather lucky. With their status as the best third-placed team, Ronald Koeman’s men could have played Spain, England or Portugal in the round of 16. Instead, they will face Romania, the leader of their group, on Tuesday, July 2 at 6 p.m. in Munich. If the Dutch start as favorites in this match, they will have to gain consistency after having won only one match in the group stage. As a reminder, the Netherlands were surprised by the Czech Republic at this stage of the competition during the last Euro.
For its part, Romania has already achieved a small feat by reaching the final stages, and what’s more, in first place in its group. After surprising defeats against Ukraine on the first day, the Romanians then had a little more trouble, with a draw (1-1) against Slovakia and a defeat (2-0) against the Belgians. A victory would allow Edward Iordănescu’s men to equal their best run at a European Championship, a quarter-final in 2000.
