Romania v Portugal, 17 June 2000

Score1-0 to Portugal
RefereeGilles Veissiere
CompetitionUEFA European Championship Finals Group A
VenueGelreDome, Arnhem
Attendance28,400
Kick Off: 18:00 Local (17:00 BST) Assistant referees: Jacques Poudevigne (France) Dramane Dante (Mali) Fourth official: Michel Piraux (Belgium) Man of the Match: Fernando Couto (Portugal) Substitute Costinha scored in the last minute of added time in Arnhem to secure Portugal's passage to the UEFA EURO 2000 quarter-finals with a game to spare. In the dying embers of a fractious game, the midfielder rose to meet Luís Figo's free-kick, flicking a header past Bogdan Stelea in the Romania goal. There was little evidence of the dazzling style that had accounted for England in Portugal's opening game, but two wins from as many outings assures them of a top-two place in Group A; Romania's hopes hang by a thread. There was a special award before the start of the match for Gheorghe Popescu in recognition of his 100th cap, but Romania received little else in the opening minutes as Portugal kept the ball with an easy assurance. Rui Costa and Luís Figo were in the thick of it, and the latter almost fashioned an opener for Nuno Gomes when Cristian Chivu lost possession just outside his area; the striker dragged his shot wide. Romania's promise to shadow the experienced wingers every step of the way looked ill-founded, yet Chivu brought some encouragement at the other end when he made ground down the left and crossed dangerously. Vítor Baía bravely intervened, and he had to be alert to push away Adrian Ilie's swerving free-kick at the expense of a corner. The game briefly sparked before half-time as Figo swung a free-kick towards Fernando Couto, who should have made more of his header. At the other end Gheorghe Hagi was not far wide with a shot from distance and, after the restart, Viorel Moldovan was unfortunate to see his header divert off a defender. Then momentum was lost, the game played at a walk. Portugal showed willing, and coach Humberto Coelho brought on Sérgio Conceição and Sá Pinto in an attempt to inject some pace into proceedings. Romania responded by tightening things up, and may even have grabbed a winner when Hagi, found by Dan Petrescu's chip to the far post, screwed his volley wide. With an earlier booking – his second of the tournament – having ruled Hagi out of Romania's next game against England, the playmaker looked determined to make an impression here, and his long-range effort forced Vítor Baía to tip over. Both teams looked to have settled for a point, however, when Costinha popped up to grab all three for Portugal.

0  Romania

Manager: Humberto Coelho

1  Portugal

Manager: Emerich Jenei

Goals:

Goals:

Costinha 90 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea
Defender Cristian Chivu
Defender Cosmin Contra
Defender Iulian Filipescu
Defender Dan Petrescu
Defender Gheorghe Popescu
Midfielder Constantin Gâlcă
Midfielder Gheorghe Hagi (captain)
Midfielder Dorinel Munteanu
Forward Adrian Ilie
Forward Viorel Moldovan

Starting lineup:

Vítor Baía Goalkeeper (captain)
Dimas Defender
Fernando Couto Defender
Jorge Costa Defender
Secretário Defender
Paulo Bento Midfielder
Rui Costa Midfielder
Vidigal Midfielder
Luís Figo Forward
Nuno Gomes Forward

Substitutions:

Florentin Petre for Dan Petrescu 63
Ioan Ganea for Viorel Moldovan 68
Laurenţiu Roşu for Adrian Ilie 77

Substitutions:

Sá Pinto for Nuno Gomes 56
Conceição for João Vieira Pinto 56
Costinha for Rui Costa 86

Cards:

Gheorghe Hagi 16 Y
Dan Petrescu 22 Y
Cosmin Contra 27 Y

Cards:

Luís Figo 30 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonț
Goalkeeper Florin Prunea
Defender Liviu Ciobotariu
Defender Erik Lincar
Midfielder Cătălin Hîldan
Midfielder Ionut Lupescu
Midfielder Florentin Petre
Midfielder Laurenţiu Roşu
Forward Ioan Ganea
Forward Adrian Mutu

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Pedro Espinha
Goalkeeper Quim
Defender Beto
Defender Rui Jorge
Defender Xavier
Midfielder Conceição
Midfielder Costinha
Midfielder Paulo Sousa
Forward Capucho
Forward Pauleta
Forward Sá Pinto

0  Romania

Manager: Humberto Coelho

Goals:

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea
Defender Cristian Chivu
Defender Cosmin Contra
Defender Iulian Filipescu
Defender Dan Petrescu
Defender Gheorghe Popescu
Midfielder Constantin Gâlcă
Midfielder Gheorghe Hagi (captain)
Midfielder Dorinel Munteanu
Forward Adrian Ilie
Forward Viorel Moldovan

Substitutions:

Florentin Petre for Dan Petrescu 63
Ioan Ganea for Viorel Moldovan 68
Laurenţiu Roşu for Adrian Ilie 77

Cards:

Gheorghe Hagi 16 Y
Dan Petrescu 22 Y
Cosmin Contra 27 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonț
Goalkeeper Florin Prunea
Defender Liviu Ciobotariu
Defender Erik Lincar
Midfielder Cătălin Hîldan
Midfielder Ionut Lupescu
Midfielder Florentin Petre
Midfielder Laurenţiu Roşu
Forward Ioan Ganea
Forward Adrian Mutu

1  Portugal

Manager: Emerich Jenei

Goals:

Costinha 90 G

Starting lineup:

Vítor Baía Goalkeeper (captain)
Dimas Defender
Fernando Couto Defender
Jorge Costa Defender
Secretário Defender
Paulo Bento Midfielder
Rui Costa Midfielder
Vidigal Midfielder
Luís Figo Forward
Nuno Gomes Forward

Substitutions:

Sá Pinto for Nuno Gomes 56
Conceição for João Vieira Pinto 56
Costinha for Rui Costa 86

Cards:

Luís Figo 30 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Pedro Espinha
Goalkeeper Quim
Defender Beto
Defender Rui Jorge
Defender Xavier
Midfielder Conceição
Midfielder Costinha
Midfielder Paulo Sousa
Forward Capucho
Forward Pauleta
Forward Sá Pinto