NICOLAE STANCIU belted home an early goal of the tournament contender to put Romania in front against Ukraine this afternoon.

The midfielder, who plays his club football for Damac FC in Saudi Arabia, lined up for Edward Iordanescu’s side in Munich.

Ukraine pushed for a goal early on in the Group E clash.

But it was Romania skipper Stanciu who opened the scoring on 29 minutes with a brilliant strike.

A poor clearance by Ukraine’s Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin fed the ball to Dennis Man.

The winger immediately teed up Stanciu, who belted a stunning strike beyond Lunin and into the top corner.

Plenty of fans were left in awe of Stanciu’s effort.

One wrote on social media: “Goal of the tournament!”

While a second gushed: “No words. Just a work of art from Stanciu.”

A third swooned: “Stanciu is a big baller.”

And another added: “Best goal of the tournament so far… Ridiculously good technique from Stanciu.”

BBC pundit Danny Murphy went on to label it a “beauty” during his half-time analysis.

The former England midfielder, 47, purred: “Stanciu, it’s beautiful technique.”

He went on to add that the strike was “one in 50, one in 100.”