Romania and Israel draw in close Euro qualifier

Euro 2024, like every Euro since its expansion to 24 teams, has become a more realistic dream for countries wishing to play on Europe's main stage.

That made the match between Romania and Israel in the Arena Nationala in Bucharest one of the most fascinating matches in the qualifying campaign so far.

Romania fans during the match against Israel, wants to qualify to Euro 2024 (Shaul Greenfeld)

Romania has played in the finals five times before, but they haven't done so since 2016.

Their failure to qualify in 2020 was even more disappointing as this arena in Bucharest was one of those hosting.

Romania thinks that it has a real opportunity to reach the Euro 2024 finals, as Israel is the team from the second pot in this group.

The Romanians played well in their last match too, as they made a huge comeback from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw, putting them one point ahead of Israel.

On the other side, Israel are also confident in their chances to qualify.

They started the campaign with only one point out of six, but wins against Belarus and Andorra gave some hope for the Israeli side.

Moreover, Israel has had an optimistic summer, as the U20 team reached the U20 World Cup semi-finals, and the U21 team reached the same stage in the U21 Euros.

Three of the youngsters that played in those tournaments - Oscar Gloukh, Roi Revivo and Dor Turgeman - were given the chance to play in the senior squad.

Both sets of fans were optimistic ahead of the game too, with the stadium nearly fully packed.

Even Israel, a team that usually doesn't have too many supporters at away games, had hundreds in the crowd in Bucharest.

Manor Solomon, Israel brought its young talents in this crucial match (Shaul Greenfeld)

After pressure from both sides, in the 27th minute came the first goal.

It came after a sequence of mistakes by the Israeli side: it began with a missed chance, and another lost ball in midfield.

Romania tried to shoot, Israel's goalkeeper Omri Glazer tipped it badly, and Denis Alibec found the net with the rebound.

The Israelis have conceded again, as they have in every match one of their last 20 matches.

At the beginning of the second half, Israel started to dominate.

In the 54th minute, Miguel Vitor recovered a ball in midfield, and gave Israel a chance for a quick attack.

Oscar Gloukh took a great shot, and Horatiu Moldovan failed to save it.

This equalizer for Gloukh is his second decisive goal in the campaign, as he also scored the winner in June against Belarus.

Later in the second half, both teams showed they lacked the ability to take the lead.

In the 76th minute, Gloukh ran through on a counter-attack, but when he arrived in the box, he hit the post.

Two minutes later, Romania’s George Puscas easily passed the Israeli defence, but failed to convert it with a high shot.

Tight game for both sides, but neither could find the winning goal (Shaul Greenfeld)

This game was a great chance for both teams to make an important step towards Euro 2024, but they both failed to do so.

Romania remain in second place in the group, and Israel remain one point behind.

Both teams will meet again in November, in the second-to-last match of the campaign, for a game that could complete the race to Germany next summer.

Edited by Alex Smith
Thumbnail photo by Shaul Greenfeld