EURO 2024, we have someone to support!

EURO 2024 is knocking on our door and it would be polite to open it. Tomorrow, the ball starts with a dance (Germany - Scotland) in which it is possible to lack fantasy, but we are sure that there will be no discount from the effort. The most important thing is that we are also present at this final tournament through our representatives. The optimists dream of the semi-finals for the tricolors, the pessimists are more thoughtful than ever. Lovers of balance, we advise you to make an average in terms of expectations, so that you do not suffer too big shocks after the first matches.

As usual, Ziarul BURSA has this time also prepared a special place (https://www.bursa.ro/euro-2024) where you can gather the essential information, but also something more. The tournament promises to be a very strong one, one in which the big favorites (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, England, Portugal) feel the threat of the returning teams (Netherlands, Belgium) but also the desire to affirm the formations coming from the background (Ukraine , Turkey).

The tricolors did not look very good in the two friendly games played this month, but let's hope that this time the score at home will not look the same as the one in the fair, but with negative-positive poles, changed. As at the beginning of any journey we must focus on the positive issues, one thing is certain, this tricolor team is very good at ambition and cohesion. The selector Edward Iordănescu must continue to insist on these qualities and it is possible that the results will appear. The team is loved by the supporters, 5,000 people at a training session is no small thing, and this can be a great moral help. As I said from the beginning, it is important to have a balance, both for the players and for the supporters, which does not go from one extreme to another suddenly, depending on one result or another. We have the opportunity to enjoy football and it would be a shame to miss this.

• Objective, passing the groups

The objective of the tricolors is a very clear one: the exit from the groups. Radu Drăguşin, the best rated tricolor player, said in the training camp of the Romanian national football team in Wurzburg (Germany), that he and his colleagues start the European Championship with the idea of getting past the group stage, an achievable goal in his opinion: "We start thinking that we want to get out of the group, that's our goal. And I think it's a goal that we can achieve, because we've always been "underdogs" (we're not among the favorites). The world didn't think we could do it this, the qualification, must give us a lot of confidence. The way we defend in Tottenham is different from the way we defend in the national team the better you adapt to the coach's requirements, the better player you become". The footballer also said what the short-term approach will be: "In the next period we will study Ukraine very well and we will make a plan to win the match. Statistically speaking, the first two matches in the group are very close. The teams do not take risks, they are very settled But in this group every match can qualify you. We have to be balanced, but we don't have to take a very soft approach either." Radu Drăguşin mentioned that he wants the supporters to come in as large a number as possible to the matches of the national team: "We are happy to be here and that many supporters came to see us at training. And we hope to have a large number of fans at every match we will play here. Maybe the fans don't realize how important they are in difficult moments... but a "Come on, Romania' shouted by the whole stadium gives you a lot of energy here for us ... from the moment we landed we saw how we were received and how many Romanians came here for us. It's a feeling of pride to be here because it's something we worked for and wanted (...) The mood at the end of the qualification campaign has not changed even after these two test matches. And we want to maintain this mood throughout the period here. There is an excellent atmosphere in the middle of the group, too I say that these two friendly people gave us many answers, because they were very honest with us. I think we are ready to face this European". Romania will make its debut at EURO 2024 on June 17, against Ukraine, in Munich, and then it will face Belgium, on June 22, in Cologne, and Slovakia, on June 26, in Group E. in Frankfurt.

• The statistics are not favorable to us

Even if they are not playing on the field, the statistics are very important. The players from the Romanian national team have a value on the transfer market of 91 million euros, the lowest value among the teams participating in Euro-2024. Albania has a more valuable lot than Romania, valued at 139 million euros, and Romania's opponent in group E, Slovakia, has a lot of 161 million euros. Belgium has a lot of 669 million euros, and the players of Ukraine are quoted at 534 million euros. The leader in the ranking of the lot value is England (1.69 billion euros), followed by France (1.41 billion euros) and Portugal (1.22 billion euros). According to the European Football Observatory (CIES), in terms of the average age of the players in the team, Romania is in 15th place, with 27.4 years. The oldest team is Scotland, with 28.8 years, and the youngest is the Czech Republic, with 25.8 years. The average height of the Romanian national team is 1.84 meters, being on the 16th place, on a par with Switzerland and Turkey. The team with the tallest players is Serbia (1.86 meters), and the one with the lowest average height is Spain (1.81 meters). Regarding the number of players from the national team who play in other championships, Denmark and Albania only have footballers from abroad. Romania has 73 percent footballers from other championships and is in 14th place. The national team with the fewest players from other championships is England, only 8 percent.

Based on these calculations, Germany, Spain, France and England are favorites to reach the semifinals of Euro-2024. According to the total calculations, Romania is ranked 21st, followed by Hungary, Albania and Georgia.