Croatia U21 play Romania U21 at the Stadionul Steaua on Tuesday night to wrap up their 2023 UEFA Euro U-21 Championship in a dead-rubber fixture. They are yet to secure their first point and score their first goal in Group B. Both sides have seen their quest for glory go up in smoke and have been eliminated after losing their opening two games. Croatia fell to a 1-0 defeat against tournament favorites Spain last week. They conceded the fastest goal ever scored in U-21 Euros history when they conceded after just 20 seconds as Abel Ruiz scored for Spain. The five-time champions held on to the lead to advance to the quarterfinal for the sixth time in seven tournaments. Romania, on the other hand, fell to a defeat to Ukraine by the same scoreline in opposite circumstances. The co-hosts held on until the dying minutes of the match when Victor Dican's 87th-minute own goal saw them eliminated. This will be the second meeting between the two sides. They were paired in the group stage in 2019 when Romania claimed a 4-1 win to top the group en route to a memorable semifinal appearance. However, for this encounter, I am expecting a win for the Croatians for the following reasons:

Firstly. Croatia came into the tournament in good form. But have failed to live up to expectations. They have suffered a group-stage elimination for the second time in three tournaments. They will want to avoid a similar fate as the one they experienced in 2019 which saw them finish at the bottom of their group. To be honest, much was expected from Croatia U21 after the nation reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history in 2021. Having failed to win a single game in each of the previous three times the nation couldn't progress pass the group stage, they will be determined to avoid that record this time around. And the odds are in their favor as they are playing a weaker team.

Secondly. As co-hosts of the tournament, much was also expected of Romania U21. They opened their campaign with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Spain U21 before losing to Ukraine U21 in stoppage time in their last outing. Romania U21 are not the best defensively, having kept just one clean sheet in their last eight European Championship matches. Romania's elimination means they have nothing but pride left to play for. Their outing has been in sharp contrast to fellow co-hosts Georgia, who are flying high.

The two sides have struggled in attack and might lack serious motivation to go all out. But Croatia still have the better team to win this game, and will be extra motivated to end the bad record of having been eliminated without a win from the previous three tournaments they could not progress from the group stage. So, I am backing Croatia U21 to get a win from this game.

周二晚上，克罗地亚U21队与罗马尼亚U21队在斯多瓦体育场进行了2023年欧洲U21锦标赛的决赛。他们还没有拿到他们在b组的首分，也没有打进他们在b组的首个进球。双方对荣誉的追求都化为泡影，在开局两场比赛失利后被淘汰出局。上周，克罗地亚0 - 1不敌杯赛热门西班牙队。西班牙队在20秒后被阿贝尔·鲁伊斯进球，创造了u21欧洲杯历史上最快的进球纪录。这位五届冠军得主在七届比赛中第六次晋级四分之一决赛。另一方面，罗马尼亚在相反的情况下以同样的比分输给了乌克兰。在比赛的最后时刻，维克托·迪肯在第87分钟的乌龙球让他们被淘汰出局。这将是双方第二次会晤。他们在2019年的小组赛中相遇，当时罗马尼亚以4-1获胜，以小组第一的身份进入了令人难忘的半决赛。然而，对于这次相遇，我期待克罗地亚人取得胜利，理由如下:

首先。克罗地亚队以良好的状态进入比赛。但却辜负了人们的期望。这是他们在三届比赛中第二次在小组赛中被淘汰。他们希望避免重蹈2019年小组赛垫底的覆辙。老实说，在2021年克罗地亚U21历史上首次进入四分之一决赛后，人们对该国寄予了厚望。在此前的三次小组赛中，韩国队都未能取得一场胜利，这次他们将下定决心避免这样的记录。因为他们面对的是一支实力较弱的球队，所以胜算更大。

其次。作为比赛的共同主办国，罗马尼亚U21也被寄予厚望。在上一场比赛中，他们以0 - 3不敌西班牙U21，并在补时阶段不敌乌克兰U21。罗马尼亚U21的防守并不是最好的，他们在最近的8场欧洲杯比赛中只有1场不失球。罗马尼亚被淘汰意味着他们除了骄傲什么都没有了。他们的表现与共同主办国格鲁吉亚形成鲜明对比，后者表现得很好。

双方在进攻方面都很挣扎，可能缺乏全力以赴的动力。但是克罗地亚仍然是一支更强的球队来赢得这场比赛，他们将会有更多的动力来结束前三届小组赛未能出线而被淘汰的糟糕记录。所以，我支持克罗地亚U21从这场比赛中取得胜利。