Switzerland could create history if they manage to defeat Romania in Paris on Wednesday, as they will get past the group stages for the first time in the European Championships. Switzerland and Romania have met 12 times in the past, with both nations emerging victorious on five occasions each, along with two draws.
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Romania, after a painful loss to France, come into this match with three points in their mind, or else their final Euro 2016 game against Albania could be a dead rubber. Romania, who did not lose a single game in the qualifying stage, have shown that they are a hard-working side, defending in numbers, and making life difficult for their opponents.
However, Romania are not a huge threat going forward. Besides Nicolae Stanciu, they do not have many midfielders of similar level in their team. Romania score most of their goals via the counter-attack, which seems to be their forte. Florin Andone will be another of their key players against Switzerland.
Against Switzerland, Romania needs to create more chances, and look for the likes of Andone and Bogdan Stancu to latch onto every opportunity, and make it count. Coach Anghel Iordanescu was satisfied with his team's performance against France, but is aware about the threat Switzerland possess as well.
"It's an extremely important game for us and for Romanian football. We're playing against a very good team and we need to do our best to get the win. We have to be realistic; we have to understand that tomorrow we'll be playing against a very good side. Their 23 players play in big leagues like the Bundesliga. Our objective is to qualify from the group," UEFA's official website quoted the coach as saying.
Switzerland, with players like Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, are a strong team, capable of doing great things in the competition. The Swiss started Euro 2016 brightly with a goal in the opening five minutes against Albania, but they lost momentum during the match, and could not score anymore goals even after Albania played with 10 men for the majority of the second half.
The two Swiss stars -- Shaqiri and Xhaka -- need to raise their game to outshine Romania's defence, as the duo has the skills to weave their magic and take the Swiss to the knockout stages.
Switzerland coach, Vladlmir Pektovic, must have drawn plans to open up the Romania defence, which the boss knows is strong. If Switzerland unlock Romania's defence, they should cruise to a second win in Euro 2016.
"Romania could have beaten France, so we need to improve on our own below-par performance against Albania. Basically, we need to extend what we did in the first 20, 30 minutes against Albania to the whole 90 minutes. I was impressed by the Romania side as a whole on Friday. They were composed, with a clear tactical formation. Now we'll see if they can match those levels again. If you want to beat them, you have to be at your best," Pektovic said.
Where to Watch Live
Romania vs Switzerland Group A game of Euro 2016 is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time (9.30 p.m. IST, 5 p.m. BST, 12 p.m. ET) start. All the live streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Sony Six/HD and Sone ESPN/HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
France: TV: Bein Sports 1 and 2. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
UK, Ireland: TV: BBC One, BBC Wales. Radio: BBC Radio 5 Live.
Switzerland: RTS Sport
Romania: Pro TV
Poland: Polsat Sport 2 HD, Belarus 5, TV P1. Live Streaming: TVP Sport.
Slovakia: TV: HRT and STV.
USA: TV: ESPN 2 and ESPN 3. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Canada: TV: TSN and RDS. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Australia: TV: Bein Sports and SBS One. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Germany: TV: ZDF and ORF.
Latin America: TV: DirecTV.
China and Hong Kong: TV: CCTV and LeTV.
Thailand: TV: Channel 3.
Singapore: TV: Eleven Singapore and Singtel. Live Streaming: Singtel Go.
Malaysia: TV: Astro.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Max. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport 3. Live Streaming: SuperSport.
