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România

 

 
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Tuesday, 20 June 2000
European Championships 2000 Finals Group A, match five/six

England 2 Romania 3 [2-1]
 

Stade Communal (Stade du Pays de Charleroi), Neuville, Charleroi, Wallonia, Hainaut, Belgium
Attendance: 27,000;
Kick-off: 8.45pm local, 7.45pm BST
Live on BBC One (UK) - Commentator: Barry Davies and Mark Lawrenson. Also live on Eurosport - Commentator: Dave Farrar and Joe Kinnear

Romania - Cristian Chivu (22), Dorinel Munteanu (47), Ioan Ganea (penalty 89).
England - Alan Shearer (penalty 40), Michael Owen (45).
Match Summary
England Squad
Romania Squad
Romania - Cristian Chivu (18), Dan Petrescu (40), Cosmin Contra (44), Adrian Ilie (45), Iulian Filipescu (74).
England - Alan Shearer (64)
.
Results 1995-2000

? kicked-off. ? minutes (? & ?).

 

Match Summary

Officials

England

Type

Romania

Referee (black) - Urs Meier
41 (22 January 1959), Wurenlos, Switzerland, FIFA-listed 1994.

Assistant Referees - Igor Sramka, Slovakia and Yury Dupanau, Belarus

Fourth Official -
Terje Hauge, 44 (5 October 1965), Norway, FIFA-listed 1993
  Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (7 June 2000) 12th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 10th to 12th
Colours: The 1999 Umbro home uniform - White shadow horizontal striped crew neck jersey with navy collar/cuffs, white Umbro sleeves trim, navy shorts with navy Umbro side trim, white socks with navy pintrim.
Capt: Alan Shearer, 34th and final captaincy. Head Coach: Joseph Kevin Keegan OBE, 49 (14 February 1951), appointed as caretaker coach 17 February 1999, full-time 14 May 1999.
16th match, W 7- D 6 - L 3 - F 25 - A 13.
England Lineup
13 Martyn, A. Nigel 33 11 August 1966 G Leeds United AFC 14 10 GA
2 Neville, Gary A. 25 18 February 1975 RB Manchester United FC 39 0
3 Neville, Phillip J. 23 21 January 1977 LB Manchester United FC 29 0
4 Campbell, Sulzeer J. 25 18 September 1974 CD Tottenham Hotspur FC 36 2
14 Ince, Paul E.C. 32 21 October 1967 CM Middlesbrough FC 53 2
6 Keown, Martin R. 33 24 July 1966 CD Arsenal FC 33 2
7 Beckham, David R.J. 25 2 May 1975 RM Manchester United FC 34 1
8 Scholes, Paul, off 81st min. 25 16 November 1974 CM Manchester United FC 27 10
9
Shearer, Alan 29 13 August 1970 F Newcastle United 63 30
Shearer cautioned in the 64th min. for Ungentlemanly Conduct for simulation, he was trying to win a free-kick just outside Romania's penalty area.
10 Owen, Michael J., off 66th min. 20 14 December 1979 F Liverpool FC 22 7
17 Wise, Dennis F., off 75th min. 33 16 December 1966 LM Chelsea FC 19 1
England Substitutes
19 Heskey, Emile W.I., on 66th min. for Owen 22 11 January 1978 F Liverpool FC 9 1
18 Barmby, Nicholas J., on 75th min. for Wise 26 11 February 1974 F Everton FC 15 3
12 Southgate, Gareth, on 81st min. for Scholes 29 3 September 1970 D Aston Villa FC 37 1

unused substitutes:

11-Steve McManaman, 15-Gareth Barry, 16-Steven Gerrard, 20-Kevin Phillips, 21-Robbie Fowler, 22-Richard Wright.

team notes:

Michael Owen becomes England youngest European Championship Finals goalscorer, aged 20 years and 189 days. Taking almost a year off the record held by Tony Adams in 1988.
 
4-4-2 Martyn -
G Neville, Campball, Keown, P Neville -
Beckham, Ince, Scholes
(Southgate), Wise (Barmby) -
Owen
(Heskey), Shearer.

Averages:

Age 27.5 Appearances/Goals - -

 

Romania Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (7 June 2000) 11th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 16th to 14th
Colours: Made by Adidas - Yellow collared v-neck jerseys with red collars/Adidas trim down sleeves and blue side panel, red/blue cuffs, yellow shorts with blue side panels and red Adidas side trim, yellow socks with red Adidas trim.
Capt: Gheorghe Popescu. Manager: Emerich Alexandru Jenei, 63 (22 March 1937), re-appointed national team coach November 1999.
50th match in charge overall, 10th match in charge since re-appointment, W 4 - D 2 - L 4 - F 14 - A 13.
Romania Lineup
12 Stelea, Bogdan G. 32 5 December 1967 G UD Salamanca SAD, Spain 68 GA
2 Petrescu, Daniel V. 32 22 December 1967 M Chelsea FC, England 92 12
Petrescu cautioned in the 40th min. for Dissent after complaining to the referee about the award of an England penalty.
13
Chivu, Cristian E. 19 26 October 1980 D Amsterdamsche FC Ajax, Netherlands 7 1
Chivu cautioned in the 18th min. Unsporting Behaviour for a foul on Beckham.
4 Filipescu, Iulian S. 26 29 March 1974 D Real Betis Balompie SAD, Spain 37 1
Filipescu cautioned in the 74th min. for Unsporting Behaviour for a foul on Heskey.
5 Galca, Constantin, off 68th min. 28 8 March 1972 M RCD Espanyol de Barcelona SAD, Spain 57 4
6 Popescu, Gheorghe, off 32nd min. 32 9 October 1967 M Galatasaray SK, Turkey 101 15
7 Mutu, Adrian 21 8 January 1979 F FC Internazionale Milano SpA, Italy 6 1
8 Munteanu, Dorinel I. 31 25 June 1968 D VfL Wolfsburg eV, Germany 89 11
9 Moldovan, Viorel D. 27 8 July 1972 F Fenerbahce SK, Turkey 51 21
22 Contra, Cosmin M. 24 15 December 1975 D Deportivo Alaves SAD, Spain 15 0
Contra cautioned in the 44th min. for Unsporting Behaviour, after he hauls down Ince.
11 Ilie, Adrian B., off 74th min. 26 20 April 1974 F Valencia CF SAD, Spain 37 10
Ilie cautioned in the 45th min. for Ungentlemanly Conduct for simulation diving. He was trying to win a penalty by going down in the box even though Martyn clearly made no contact.
Romania Substitutes
17 Belodedici, Miodrag, on 32nd min. for Popescu 36 20 May 1964 D FC Steaua Bucuresti 51 5
16 Rosu, Laurentiu D., on 68th min. for Galca 24 26 October 1975 M FC Steaua Bucuresti 16 3
18 Ganea, Ioan V., on 74th min. for Ilie 26 10 August 1973 M VfB Stuttgart 1893 eV, Germany 15 8

unused substitutes:

1-Bogdan Lobont, 3-Liviu Ciobotariu, 14-Florentin Petre, 15-Ioan Lupescu, 19-Erik Lincar, 20-Catalin Hildan.

team notes:

Coach Emerich Jenei was in charge of Hungarian's friendly defeat against England in May 1992.
 

4-4-2

Stelea -
Contra, Popescu
(Belodedici), Filipescu, Chivu -
Petrescu, Galca
(Rosu), Mutu, Munteanu -
Ilie
(Ganea), Moldovan.

Averages:

Age - Appearances/Goals - -

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

 

Source Notes

England saw a place in the quarter-finals ripped cruelly from their grasp as Romania snatched victory with a dramatic late penalty.  Alan Shearer's penalty and a Michael Owen goal in first-half injury time had looked like securing the point England needed to scrape through in Group A.  But Phil Neville's ugly late tackle on Viorel Moldovan gave substitute Ioan Ganea the chance to send stand-in keeper Nigel Martyn the wrong way from the penalty spot and break England's hearts in Charleroi.  England's night of pain got off to a disastrous start before a ball had even been kicked as goalkeeper David Seaman was forced to pull out through injury just minutes before kick off.  That meant a last-minute call-up for Martyn, but if the Leeds keeper was nervous it did not show as England made a hesitant start in front of him.

Martyn was called into action inside five minutes as Martin Keown's foul on Adrian Mutu gave Adrian Ilie the chance to whip in a vicious free kick from the edge of the area, only for Martyn to brilliantly palm the shot away at full stretch to his left.But England failed to read the warning signs and found themselves behind midway through the first half.  Cristian Chivu was the Romanian hero, though his goal came attached with a huge slice of good fortune.  Chivu was looking for Moldovan at the far post after turning Gary Neville in the penalty area, but his left-foot cross drifted cruelly in off Martyn's far post to the surprise of everyone - including the goalscorer himself.   That was the only surprise though, as Romania fully deserved their advantage and could easily have extended the lead.  First, Ilie wasted a glorious opening when he headed straight at Martyn after Dan Petrescu's cross had found him onside but unmarked on the penalty spot.  Then, 10 minutes before half time, Ajax teenager Chivu was inches away from his second goal with a rasping drive that flew just over the crossbar.

But England were gifted a lifeline when Shearer gave Ince the chance to run clear and Chivu turned from hero to villain with a challenge that gave Swiss referee Urs Meier little option but to point to the spot.  The transformation was complete three minutes into injury time when Paul Scholes chipped over the defence for Owen to run clear as the flag stayed down.  Owen made no mistake, cleverly clipping the ball beyond Stelea before sliding the ball home from a rapidly narrowing angle.  Having got themselves dramatically off the hook however, England were winched firmly back up onto it just three minutes into the second half.  Martyn came for a cross which really had little to do with him and his clearance fell straight to the waiting Dorinel Munteanu, who chested the ball down before drilling it back beyond the despairing dive of Martyn as he attemped to put right his error.

That left the match on a knife edge, as England looked uncertain whether to push for a winner or protect the point that would secure their quarter final place.

Their hesitancy was in evidence on the hour when Ilie almost cashed in, but half-volleyed straight at Martyn when well placed from Mutu's cross.  But any doubts surrounding Kevin Keegan's tactics were soon dispelled when he replaced the hobbling Owen with another striker in the imposing shape of Emile Heskey, rather than introduce an extra body to firm up midfield.  An incident-packed match continued to throw up surprises as Shearer was booked for a dive on the edge of the Romanian penalty area but much worse was to follow.  England looked to have done enough before Moldovan broke clear of Phil Neville down the Romanian right and the Manchester United defender's desperate attempt to clear the danger resulted in disaster.  Ganea was under immense pressure with time so nearly up, but he remained cool to send Martyn the wrong way and Romanian fans delirious. Even then, England had one final chance to snatch back the advantage, but Beckham's stinging free kick was just missed by the head of Shearer and drifted tamely into the grateful arms of Stelea.  It proved Shearer's final contribution in an England shirt. 

The captain had announced he was retiring from international football at the end of this tournament, but the manner of his England departure proved a bitter pill to swallow.

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
F.A. Yearbook
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CG