Romania and Slovakia have dismissed suggestions they could settle for a draw in their last Euro 2024 group match on Wednesday, a result that would see both reach the last 16, regardless of the outcome of the other match between Belgium and Ukraine.
Romania (3-2 goals), Belgium (2-1), Slovakia (2-2) and Ukraine (2-4) are all tied on three points in Group E, which is unprecedented in tournament history and leads to this delicate situation.
Euro format plays a role
The Euro format, in which four third-place finishers join the top two from the six groups in the last 16, plays a role in this scenario.
A draw between Romania and Slovakia would give both four points which is more than the third-place finishers from groups A (Hungary - 3) and B (Croatia - 2).
They will finish second and third if they draw and Belgium v Ukraine has a winner, and two draws would also see them through because Ukraine would remain last on goal difference in that case.
This means that only Ukraine are in a must-win situation to advance without the help of others, due to their inferior goal difference. A draw would only be enough for them if the other game has a winner.
Teams say they are playing to win
Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona said on Tuesday he did not want to comment on the media speculation.
"We are pros, we know that a draw could help us advance. But that means nothing. Nobody has given us anything for free so far. We will go into tomorrow's game with great conviction. If we end up with a draw and progress - all the better," he said.
Slovakia stunned Belgium 1-0 in their opener before losing 2-1 to Ukraine. Romania crushed Ukraine 3-0 and then lost 2-0 against Belgium.
Romania coach Edi Iordanescu insisted: "We are playing for first place, for the group victory. We will give our all in every second like we have done before.
"Yes, a draw against Slovakia is sufficient for us. We are happy if it ends that way. To have it end that way we must be ready to win this match."
The question remain how many risks the team will want to take as the game progresses.
Memories of Gijon
But nobody will want a repeat of the infamous 1982 World Cup match between West Germany and Austria, where both teams effectively stopped playing after the Germans went 1-0 up. That scoreline saw both through at the expense of Algeria who had played their final match earlier.
To avoid similar scenarios final group matches at big events are nowadays played at the same time, which however does't help in this case.
