Starry days of Montenegrin football - the youth football team is set to face a historic performance in Romania tonight, their first match at the European Championship.
None of our teams have reached a major competition so far, and the U19 team does not want to have an episodic role in the Euro finals, in which only eight teams participate.
The first rival is the host, Romania, at the “Arcul de Triumf” stadium in the north of Bucharest (20 p.m.).
"Falcons" coach Nenad Vukčević believes that his team will represent Montenegro and Montenegrin football in the right way on their debut.
- The first match definitely means a lot to us and to the Romanian team. As the hosts, they certainly have their own desires and ambitions, they want to perform as well as possible in this tournament and to go as far as possible. On the other hand, we also have ambitions. Although we have a lot of problems with the squad, both due to the players' commitments in their clubs and due to injuries, we have brought 20 football players who are the best and who we believe will do everything to represent our country and football in the best possible way at this tournament - said Vukčević.
A win at the start could determine a lot in a group that also includes Denmark and Spain (they meet tonight at 18 p.m.).
Montenegro plays Denmark on Monday (17 p.m.), and next Thursday is a duel with Spain (19 p.m.).
- We see a chance to reach the semi-finals. It is certain that all the teams that came to the final tournament are very high-quality and that everyone is looking in their own way to reach the semi-finals and finals. They may see us as outsiders and we are completely relieved when it comes to placing because we have already achieved historic success - Vukčević emphasized.
- But, there's no point in coming without ambition and from game to game we'll look at our chance to advance as far as possible. We want to win the first match, because it can determine a lot. We've dedicated ourselves the most to that match and we'll do everything to achieve triumph.
Montenegro is writing history, it must do so without two leaders of the generation - Vasilije Adžić and Andrija Bulatović.
- The feeling is beautiful. Someone selected this generation earlier and made a success with it. I was lucky to get this selection in the elite round tournament, which was its third appearance in the elite round and third luck when it comes to the fight for a place in the European Championship. It is definitely a great success for Montenegro and I as a selector, but also my coaching staff and the entire team, will remain written in the history of Montenegrin football and that is something I am very proud of - concluded Vukčević.
The second group includes Germany, Norway, England and the Netherlands, with the two top-placed teams each advancing to the semifinals.
Romanian coach: Montenegro is a pleasant surprise
The Romanians have a team full of internationals, footballers who play in Italy (Empoli, Verona, Lecce), Germany (Mainz, Greuther Furth), Spain (Celta)...
The coach is Marin Jon, an experienced 70-year-old, who wants to take the youth team to the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Home field is an advantage for the Romanians, the stadium with a capacity of around 4.500 seats is expected to have at least three thousand tonight.
The true strength of this generation of Romanians remains to be seen, as they have only played friendly matches in the past two years. And they haven't won since March 2023, although they have played all of them against strong rivals - France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark.
Tonight they want - a victory over Montenegro, at the opening of the domestic Euro.
"Montenegro is the surprise of the European Championship! A pleasant surprise, a strong team, with players of size and strength. This is the first game, I'm not saying it's already won, but it's a game that, if we win, opens the door to the semi-finals for us," said Romania coach Martin Jon.
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