(Reuters) – Bogdan Stancu’s achievement in becoming the first Romanian to score twice at a European Championship would mean nothing if his team failed to progress to the last 16, the striker said on Thursday.
Romania can still secure their passage despite a 1-1 draw with Group A rivals Switzerland on Wednesday, most likely as one of the four best third-placed teams, but will probably need to beat Albania on Sunday.
Stancu, who also converted a penalty in their opening 2-1 defeat by France, said the squad’s targets are more important than personal milestones.
“It is good to be part of history,” Stancu told tournament organiser UEFA’s website (www.uefa.com), “(but) it’s worth nothing to be part of such statistics if the goal of the whole team is not met.”
Stancu said Romania were wary of the threat posed by Euro debutants Albania who were beaten 2-0 by hosts France on Wednesday after two late goals.
“We recognise how good the Albanians are, how committed they are and how physical their approach is,” the 28-year-old added.
“From this point of view we have to be clever and tricky against them because otherwise qualifying would become problematic.”
(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tony Jimenez)
