Euro 2024 has been surrounded by controversy following an incident involving Florin Niță, the goalkeeper for Romania, who was compelled to remove trainers from his penalty area just before the Netherlands scored in their 3-0 victory over Romania. This incident has left Romania incensed and is likely to provoke discussion among football enthusiasts.
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock, followed by Borussia Dortmund star Donyell Malen, who scored twice, including a magnificent solo effort. However, the match was marred by the incident concerning Niță and the trainers that were thrown onto the pitch from the stands, which he had to kick away before Malen’s goal.
Subsequent to the match, BBC commentator Steve Wilson and former footballer Gary Lineker deliberated on the incident during their analysis, underscoring the influence it had on the game. The trainers, believed to have originated from the Romanian section of the stadium, were the second crowd-related incident during the match, with another individual invading the pitch in the 90th minute.
Notwithstanding the controversy, the Netherlands secured a comfortable victory, setting up a quarter-final match against either Austria or Turkey in Berlin on Saturday.
Donyell Malen, forward for the Netherlands, expressed his happiness at contributing to the team’s triumph and looked forward to celebrating the victory. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo lauded his team’s performance and stressed the significance of defending as a team. The two players are currently joint top scorers in the tournament alongside Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze, and Ivan Schranz.
With only Gakpo and Musiala remaining in the tournament from the current front-runners, excitement is mounting for the upcoming matches, including the quarter-final clash between hosts Germany and Spain.
As the tournament progresses, football enthusiasts can anticipate more thrilling matches and outstanding performances from the leading players. Join our WhatsApp community for daily Mirror Football content and special offers, as we continue to report the latest updates and developments from Euro 2024.