EURO 2024 Round of 16: Romania vs. Netherlands

EURO 2024 Round of 16 Preview: Romania vs Netherlands

The Netherlands are the favorites heading into their Round of 16 clash against Romania at EURO 2024. Despite the Dutch's shaky group stage performance, the Opta supercomputer gives them a 62.8% chance of winning in 90 minutes.Romania, on the other hand, have only beaten the Netherlands once in 14 previous meetings, losing their last four in a row.

Key Insights

This will be Romania's first knockout-stage match at a major tournament since EURO 2000.

• Cody Gakpo has been the main threat for the Netherlands, scoring two of their four goals in the group stage. He could become the sixth Dutchman to score three or more goals in a single edition of the finals.
• Memphis Depay impressed in the final group stage match against Austria, leading the line well after calls for him to be dropped. He recorded the second-most pressures in the final third among Dutch players.
• Razvan Marin has scored two of Romania's four goals, including an emphatic penalty against Slovakia. Only two Romanian players have scored more in a single major tournament.

Head-to-Head

The Netherlands have a dominant record against Romania, winning 10 of the 14 matches between the two teams and scoring 29 goals to Romania's three. Their last meeting was a 3-0 friendly win for the Dutch in 2017.

Prediction

Despite Romania's strong group stage performance, the Netherlands are still favored to win this match. The Opta supercomputer gives the Dutch a 67.6% chance of progressing, compared to 32.4% for Romania.The Netherlands are expected to win in normal time in 62.8% of simulations, while Romania only win in 15.3% of scenarios.

The Bad Tackle

On paper, the Dutch team seem resolute. On the field at EURO 2024, they have been lackluster. With the correct tactics and discipline, Romania has the ability to book Oranje their tickets home.