THE following is the reaction to Romania’s 3-0 victory over Ukraine in Euro 2024 Group E, the country’s first European Championship win in 24 years.
Nicolae Stanciu, Romania midfielder and Player of the Match:
“(The support} was unique, we’ve never felt anything like this before. My siblings, my father and my wife all had tears in their eyes. I’d like to thank them all, and I hope we’ve made them very happy today… What we did today was just sensational.”
Stanciu on his first-half goal: “It was the goal of my career. This shirt means everything to me. To score at an EURO finals and to win in the manner that we did, it’s just incredible.”
Edward Iordanescu, Romania coach: “I’d like to thank every Romanian everywhere in the world. I know that they were with us today. It was a fantastic effort by my team. If you had any doubts, I think you can believe me now that this is a great team. Congratulations to the lads. It’s just incredible.
“Since I joined the national team I’ve had difficult moments. It’s not always been easy. We’ve had other big performances. We’ve had golden generations with big performances, but this generation represents the soul. This team has put the biggest effort into everything. As big a heart as this team, nobody has ever had. This generation is limitless.”
Serhiy Rebrov, Ukraine coach: “Clearly, there were different components of the game. We had possession but didn’t create any chances. Nobody expected this result. We have a very serious game in front of us (against Slovakia). We have to talk among ourselves.
“Today, unfortunately, we didn’t show our level and now we have to be more serious for our next match.”
