When reading an analysis piece of a modern football match, the same themes of performance tend to dominate the text. Aspects such as passing, transitions, and formations are easy to pick up on and, therefore, the types of things that will always headline any tactical breakdown.
However, the truth is that those sorts of things only form half of the story as far as a team performance is concerned, with success or failure just as much down to what players do without the ball as well as the impact that they have with it. This was demonstrated clearly during Romania’s opening Euro 2024 match against Ukraine, where it was clear whilst watching that the former had considered carefully not only what they would do when the ball was in their grasp but how they would work together to facilitate the transitions and passing sequences that were so prominent in their play.
With that in mind, this tactical analysis will provide a breakdown of their performance to show why they emerged as comfortable winners in the end, but will put a special emphasis on their off-the-ball movement to show how they really had thought of everything and why that was crucial to them gaining such a dominant win.
Midfield control
From the outset of this match, Romania’s tactics largely revolved around their ability to control the middle of the field and never allow Ukraine to have an opportunity to either play through them or keep them pinned back. That was one of the reasons that they played in such an effective manner, both with and without the ball.
As far as their attacking play is concerned, accurate passing was critical to Romanias ability to launch attacks and move the ball into promising areas of the field.
However, what will not have been picked up on is the role that those in the middle had in creating those passing routes, with the duo of Nicolae Stanciu and Răzvan Marin making so many clever runs that had a direct impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend against each attacking opportunity. In this situation, Stanciu has possession and is looking to find Marin in the space between them, knowing that the latter player will look to drop back here to get on the ball. The reason for that is that he wants to tempt the Ukrainian defenders into leaving their positions and, therefore, opening up spaces for the ball to then travel through.
On this occasi
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