After three matches, Romelu Lukaku could be right up there in the top scorer rankings. Basically, the Belgian striker also scored three goals, like the Georgian international Georges Mikautadze. Problem, video assistance was forced to cancel all of them. First his two against Slovakia (0-1 on June 17), then a third against Romania (2-0, June 22). As a result, his counter still shows zero at the dawn of the round of 16 against the France team, this Monday (6 p.m.). Is this, ultimately, rather good or bad news for the Blues? What is certain is that “Big Rom” does not intend to stop there. The top scorer in the history of the Belgian selection (85 goals), who has the record for missed chances (6) and that of the greatest number of shots on target (7) without scoring, cannot leave his German trip empty-handed. .
“It’s really very, very difficult to accept this because there’s maybe only an extra centimeter, but he’s in a good state of mind I thinkassured his teammate Arthur Théate before the last match against Ukraine (0-0), where Lukaku remained silent. It must not be easy for him to accept because it is his third goal disallowed, but when you see the offside, I think he was really unlucky. He is a very important player for us, he creates a lot of chances, a lot of spaces, if he continues like this, I am sure he will score a lot of goals.” But time is running out. Whistled and booed by its supporters after its performance against the Ukrainians, the Belgian selection needs its achievements now.
Meunier: “Traveling 6 hours to insult the players, I don’t think that’s a goal”
The AS Roma center forward, who will return to Chelsea at the end of his loan, established a new European record with 14 goals during qualifying for the Euro but did not score again in the final phase of an international competition, Euro or World Cup, since Euro 2021, which he finished with four goals on the clock. But nothing to call his status into question. “We exchange thoughts and information. We’re still talking, not just right now because of missed opportunities. He is confident, he just needs to score a goal“, warned his coach Domenico Tedesco, who therefore retains all his confidence in his scorer. Don’t touch “Big Rom”, even less before the clash against the Blues.
A decent season in Rome
With his almost atypical profile (chest circumference calculated at 116 cm in 2019 by the media HLN, waist circumference estimated at 84 cm, shoe size 47.5), whether he proposes as a pivot or takes the depth, the 93 kilo striker remains quite a weight for opposing defenses. If his physical condition often dictates his performances, Lukaku had a rather decent season with Roma, where he scored 21 goals in 47 matches. Even if everything wasn’t perfect.
“In a club that does not have the same ambitions as teams like Inter, AC Milan or Juventus, scoring 21 goals is not nothingexplains Augusto Ciardi, Italian journalist and follower of AS Roma for the Roman radio station Teleradiostereo. At the start, he scored almost a goal per game. Then he slowed down in the second half of the season. The fault, also, of a collective context with great structural and technical limitations, where Dybala was often injured, where the full-backs were unable to pass the ball correctly to a central attacker… The club finished in 6th place, again once out of the top 4. Its season therefore deserves a 6 or 7 out of 10 (…) But it is certain that given its costs, expectations were very high.”
Romelu Lukaku
Credit: Getty Images
To the point that AS Roma preferred to stop the costs, not wanting to match the forty million euros demanded by Chelsea. Having since landed on the Naples bench, Antonio Conte, for his part, would like to recover his protégé to compensate for the very probable departure of Victor Osimhen. The two respect and adore each other. The first had done everything to recruit him to Inter Milan in the summer of 2019. In Lombardy, Lukaku had broken everything during his first stint. In total, and if we include the second (2022-2023), he has 78 goals in 132 matches in total.
“We can see that physically, he is still holding up.by Augusto Ciardi. When he arrived here in Rome, everyone said he would be out of shape and overweight. It was quite the opposite. During this Euro, he still had bad luck with his three goals disallowed, but they still had to be scored. This competition is also a showcase for him, since he will not stay at Chelsea. So he must show himself to be in great physical condition. In Italy, there is a lot of talk about Naples and AC Milan. His profile remains an asset to play in this championship, he always weighs on the defenses. So he must show great condition. It is certain that if he eliminated France with his Belgium, it would be a big blow…” A scenario that we prefer not to imagine, to tell the truth.
On the Blues’ side, there will probably be no specific tactic to mark Lukaku. The task of marking him will fall to the central hinge composed of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano.There aren’t many defenders who like to play against Lukaku, but we have no choice. When you want to play against the best strikers, you’re happy to play against the best. We know how to play. You have to be focused, you can’t stick to him too much. We’ll try to block him well.“, the first indicated at a press conference this week.
“We all know Lukaku, we know what he is capable of doing, explained the second Thursday. He is a player who scores a lot of goals. Physically, he is above average. Afterwards, he doesn’t play alone. It’s going to be Belgium. We are not only going to play against Lukaku, we are not going to focus only on him. We know it’s a dangerous weapon, but it’s not just him.” When in doubt, it’s best to limit it anyway. Especially when you remember the goal he scored against the French team in the Nations League semi-final at the end of 2021. It was another life. But if the epilogue could be the same…
Camavinga: “If we score 10 goals in the next match, you will forget all that”
