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Romania U21 vs Croatia U21 Prediction & Betting tips
The first match day in Group A at the U21 European Championship in Italy and San Marino, which started on Sunday, ended with two not-so-expected results. Mavericks Poland surprisingly defeated Belgium 3-3 and hosts Italy beat 3-1 with the Spaniards. In view of the fact that only the winner of the three groups and the best second will win the ticket for the semi-final, both the Iberians and the “Young Devils” will be under pressure before the second matchday.
In Group C, a similar picture emerges before the two opening fixtures, as while from 20:00 clock with England and France, the two favorites in direct duel face, may from 17:30 clock in the encounter between Romania and Croatia – our forecast after – only the winner make realistic hopes for the semi-final.
On paper, Romania is traded as an underdog against Croatia according to odds, presumably due to coach Nenad Gracan’s favored eleven having more individualized quality in their own ranks. Nevertheless, the Romanians should not be underestimated, especially since the first European Championship finals participation in under-21s for 20 years has provided for an emerging euphoria in the home. In qualifying they left Portugal, among other things, so the young Tricolori will start with a lot of confidence in the tournament. Therefore, at the end of the match, it is Romania vs. Russia. Croatia paid a tip on the Radoi charges?
Romania:
Once great players such as Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Dan Petrescu, Dorinel Munteanu and Ilie Dumitrescu had the most successful time in Romanian football. In the 90s, the Tricolori was considered one of the best national teams in the world. In 1994, the Golden Generation under the direction of coach Angel Iordanescu, for example, reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup finals in the United States. However, in the past two decades, football in the Black Sea state has declined somewhat. The last World Cup participation dates from the year 1998 and also at European Championships, the Romanians have since 2000 (quarterfinals) torn anything.
The association officials are all the more pleased that a new golden generation is currently forming which can write positive headlines in the footballer scene in the coming years. For the first time in 20 years, a Romanian U21 national team has managed to qualify for a European Championship in this age group. In the extremely difficult qualifying group with Portugal, Bosnia, Wales, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the protégés of coach Mirnel Radoi took first place after ten completed matches. Seven wins came in three draws, meaning that the Romanians in Italy and San Marino are only able to play for the second time in a U21 finals.
The greatest strength of the outsider is certainly on the defensive. With captain Ionut Radu, a late-22-year-old keeper has come into focus, who could be the defining face in the Romanian goal for years to come. Together with the physically strong back four formed the keeper of FC Genoa one of the best defensives of the European Championship qualifiers. Just four goals in the mentioned ten games are a clear indication that the men in the yellow jerseys are difficult to beat. At the same time, the disciplined and stable style of play is reason enough to play in the opening match between Romanians and Croatia the (too) high odds on a success of the alleged underdogs. In addition to the Ionut Radu mentioned, players such as Dennis Man or George Puscas have already had their first experience in the senior team.
Overall, the Romanian elf is tactically well trained and therefore perhaps even more mature than the Croats, who will primarily rely on the individual class. That such a constellation can lead to success, was evident on Sunday, when Poland, thanks to a clever play and solid positional game Belgium forced 3: 2 to their knees.
Croatia:
At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Croats were still the big surprise team. Led by world-class pros like Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic, Dejan Lovren or Ivan Perisic, the “Vatreni” fought his way to the final, losing 2-4 against France. The question that many decision-makers in the association currently face is whether the substructure, in the form of the junior teams, is also strong enough to compensate for the imminent resignations of the abovementioned top performers.
The squad of the U21 national team, which will represent the country in the coming two weeks in Italy & San Marino, is certainly not littered by absolute top talent. Youngsters like Ante Rebic, Duje Caleta-Car or Alen Halilovic were not nominated for the European Championship finals, although they would have been eligible to play in any event. From this, however, automatically conclude that the Croats do not take the tournament of the twelve best U21 teams one hundred percent serious, would still be the wrong approach. Nonetheless, at first sight, it is not clear to us why we should give a prognosis on the “Kockasti” in the duel between Romania and Croatia. With the exception of Filip Benkovic (Celtic Glasgow), Nikola Vlasic (CSKA Moscow) or Josip Brekalo (VfL Wolfsburg), there are no players in the squad who could make the difference on their own due to their CV and their estimated market value. Also, the advantage of past U-tournaments that the largest possible block of the national champion Dinamo Zagreb is under contract and thus knows from the daily training operation, this time is not a decisive factor in only three Dinamo professionals.
In qualifying, the team of coach Nenad Gracan was still no nakedness and reached with 25 out of a possible 30 points (eight wins, a draw, a bankruptcy) and a goal difference of 31: 5 the first place in front of Greece. In the test matches in the current calendar year 2019 let the Croatian U21, which was also previously represented only twice in a European Championship finals (2000 and 2004) and failed both times in the first round, also miss any constancy. An embarrassing 1: 4 defeat against Switzerland was followed by a 2-2 draw with France (2-0 down) and a flattering 1-0 win over Denmark just before the tournament began. However, the performances in these games are not a trigger for us in Romania. Croatia to place a tip on the Gracan troupe.