Romania happy to be rated outsiders

Romania striker Daniel Niculae is happy his country are considered underdogs as they prepare to face France in their opening UEFA EURO 2008™ fixture in Group C on Monday.

Tough group
It's the first time in eight years that Romania have reached the finals of a major tournament and Victor Piţurcă's side have been rewarded with a place in the so-called Group of Death where they will also take on FIFA World Cup holders Italy and the Netherlands – the team who finished three points behind them in their qualifying group.

Less pressure
However, according to Niculae, that eases the pressure somewhat as the burden of expectation won't be so high to reach the knockout stages. "It's a normal thing to be considered the underdogs in the group because the Romanian national team, compared to the other teams, have not won a major title yet," said the 25-year-old. "It is normal to be regarded as the weakest team in the group, but I am sure that we will be treated with a lot of respect. We know the opposition are worried about playing against us, but we will also treat our opponents with respect no matter what games they have won.

'Three cup finals' 
"It's normal to be excited to play against such great teams at a big tournament like EURO. All teams are on pretty much the same level and every game is a big one. We have three cup finals in our group. We'll play against three very good teams and I hope we won't disappoint anybody." With players such as Thierry Henry, Luca Toni and Ruud van Nistelrooy on display, Niculae acknowledges that the influence of the big stars will be decisive in terms of who progresses from the section. But he's also quick to highlight Romania's defensive strength – having only conceded seven goals in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™ with a win and a draw posted against Marco van Basten's side – while pointing to the quality of the likes of Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu in their own ranks.

Waiting game    
"Compared with other national teams who have several players that can decide a match, I think Romania have players who can also be decisive, but the strength of our national team is the strength of our group," the AJ Auxerre forward added. "It's very important to have qualified. For us, there were eight years of wanting, eight years of frustration because we did not qualify for a final tournament, eight years in which we had lots of ambition although we did not reach a final tournament. I hope to finish the tournament with our heads up – no matter when we finish."