Romania has appeared at seven editions of theFIFA World Cup, and was one of only four European nations—alongsideBelgium,France, andYugoslavia—to compete at the inaugural tournament in1930. The team qualified for all pre-World War II editions of the competition, returned in1970, and later produced agolden generation during the 1990s that reached three consecutive World Cups from1990 to1998. Romania's best World Cup campaign came in1994, when led by playmakerGheorghe Hagi defeatedArgentina 3–2 in the round of 16, before narrowly losing toSweden on penalties in the quarter-finals.
The Romanian Football Federation (Federația Română de Fotbal) was established in October 1909 inBucharest. Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2–1 win overYugoslavia inBelgrade, being coached by Teofil Moraru.[4] Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, managing the side for nearly four years. Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s; managerCostel Rădulescu took them to the first threeFIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only byBrazil,Belgium andFrance.
Romania qualified for thenext World Cup in 1934 after beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new knock-out format, losing 2–1 toCzechoslovakia inTrieste, Italy, withȘtefan Dobay scoring their only goal of the tournament.
Romania qualified by default for the1938 World Cup after their qualifying playoff opponentsEgypt withdrew. They suffered a shock defeat in the finals in France, losing to minnowsCuba, who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents, theUnited States. The first match at theStade du T.O.E.C. inToulouse ended 3–3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2–1.
Despite a 3–0 loss toPortugal inLisbon and two draws againstGreece, Romania was able to qualify for the1970 World Cup in Mexico.Angelo Niculescu's promising side were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with1966 winnersEngland, giants Brazil and Czechoslovakia.
AGeoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romania's first match at theEstadio Jalisco inGuadalajara in what was a very physical game. Chances were improved with a 2–1 win over the Czechs. After going behind early to aLadislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time withAlexandru Neagu andFlorea Dumitrache scoring to give them two vital points. Even then, only a win over the Brazilians would take them into the quarter-finals.
There were rumours before the match that Brazil might prefer Romania to progress than world champions England;[citation needed] after beating them 1–0 in their previous match in Guadalajara, the South American giants still viewed England as one of its biggest obstacles to tournament victory. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, withPelé scoring twice and aJairzinho goal in between. Romania battled bravely; Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2–1 before the break and a lateEmerich Dembrowski goal made it 3–2, but they were out.
On 26 September 1972, under new coachValentin Stanescu, Romania suffered a significant defeat toEast Germany inLeipzig. The East Germans won 2–0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, whichwould be held over the border in West Germany. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4–1 win inAlbania, Romania were out, despite a huge 9–0 win overFinland in Bucharest.
Romania continued to suffer poor form in theUEFA European Championship. In their qualifying group for the1976 European Football Championship, they were out-qualified bySpain despite an impressive 1–1 draw in the away match. Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice withScotland and Spain and dropping points inDenmark with a dismal goalless draw.
Romania were again beaten by Spain for a place in the1978 World Cup in Argentina. After a 1–0 win in Bucharest, Romania lost a match at home to Yugoslavia 6–4 having led 3–2 at half time. Spain won 1–0 in Belgrade to seal passage to Argentina.
Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign between 1970 and 1990 was for theEuropean Championships in 1984 in France. At the finals, Romania were drawn with Spain, holdersWest Germany and Portugal. Under head coachMircea Lucescu, an encouraging opening game inSaint-Étienne saw them draw with the Spanish.Francisco José Carrasco opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Romania equalized before half-time with a goal fromLaszlo Bölöni.
Against the Germans inLens,Marcel Coraș scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half in response toRudi Völler's opener, but Völler would score a winning goal. Their last match inNantes was a must-win match, butNené's late winner meant Portugal progressed with Spain, who netted a dramatic late winner against West Germany at theParc des Princes inParis.
Romania stuttered throughout the rest of the decade, but a stronger squad at the end of the decade saw them qualify for their fifth World Cup in1990. A win over Denmark in their last match tookEmerich Jenei's side to the finals for the first time in 20 years.
With an increasing trend for big clubs inItaly andSpain buying up the best foreign talent[citation needed], Romania's squad was entirely domestic-based. MidfielderIlie Dumitrescu,strikerFlorin Răducioiu and genius playmaker[citation needed]Gheorghe Hagi, were in the squad. After world champions Argentina were stunned byCameroon in the tournament's opening match, Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over theSoviet Union at theSan Nicola inBari, withMarius Lăcătuș scoring in each half. The result was all the more impressive[citation needed] given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus' second was a penalty given for a handball byVagiz Khidiatullin that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area[citation needed].
Romania lost to Cameroon next; cult hero[citation needed]Roger Milla, aged 38, came on as a substitute forEmmanuel Maboang Kessack and scored twice beforeGavril Balint pulled one back. Romania needed a point in their last match against improving Argentina at theSan Paolo inNaples;Pedro Monzón gave Argentina the lead after an hour, but Balint quickly equalized and Romania held on to reach the second round[citation needed].
Romania was successful, however, inreaching another World Cup in theUnited States in 1994. After losing in Belgium and suffering a heavy 5–2 defeat in Czechoslovakia, Romania went into their last match atCardiff Arms Park withWales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from Gheorghe Hagi andDean Saunders meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty[citation needed].Paul Bodin ofSwindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2–1, Florin Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were eliminated.[5]
At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages[citation needed], with Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu and Ilie Dumitrescu on form. Romania beatColombia 3–1 at thePasadenaRose Bowl inLos Angeles (all but one of Romania's games took place inCalifornia, and they were awarded the advantage of playing most of their games in LA). Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline[citation needed].Adolfo Valencia pulled one back with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third[citation needed].
InDetroit's indoorPontiac Silverdome, the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena[citation needed].Switzerland, acclimatized after having already played the hosts there, outran Romania in the second half and turned a 1–1 half time score into a 4–1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1–0 in Pasadena with an earlyDan Petrescu goal[citation needed].
In the Round of 16 knockout stage they faced Argentina, minusDiego Maradona who had been thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs, in Los Angeles[citation needed]. The suspended Răducioiu was hardly missed, as coachAnghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker[citation needed] and the player responded by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes, one a subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders. In between,Gabriel Batistuta scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a third on the counterattack, with Hagi beating goalkeeperLuis Islas.Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win[citation needed].
Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again in the quarter-final againstSweden inSan Francisco. With just 13 minutes to play, a tight match opened up as Sweden'sTomas Brolin scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall byHåkan Mild for Brolin to smash in[citation needed]. Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear. In extra time Răducioiu scored again after a mistake byPatrik Andersson, but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant strikerKennet Andersson climbed above goalkeeperFlorin Prunea to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replaceBogdan Stelea, whose confidence was shattered by the 4–1 loss to the Swiss[citation needed]. In the shoot-out, Dan Petrescu andMiodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved byThomas Ravelli and Sweden went through[citation needed].
AtEuro 1996, held in England, Romania arrived as a highly thought-of and popular team but had a nightmare. Iordănescu's side were based in the northeast, with their first two games atSt James' Park inNewcastle. Against France, they lost to aChristophe Dugarry header reminiscent of Kennet Andersson's two years earlier, beating the goalkeeper to a lofted through ball. An early goal from Bulgaria strikerHristo Stoichkov at St James' Park put Romania on the back foot in Euro 1996, butDorinel Munteanu appeared to have kept Romania in the match – and in the tournament – with a thunderbolt that hit the bar, bounced over the line, and back out. RefereePeter Mikkelsen merely waved play on, however, and Romania went on to lose the game 1–0, a defeat which sent them out of the tournament.
Despite a poor performance at Euro 1996, Romania impressed inqualifying, finishing ten points clear of the Republic of Ireland and wereseeded for the final tournament of the1998 World Cup.
The next match was against a Tunisia side eliminated after losing to both England and Colombia. With England–Colombia being the more decisive game, theStade de France in Paris was an 80,000-strong sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock asSkander Souayah scored an early penalty to give the north Africans the lead. Romania needed a point to win the group and avoid Argentina in the round of 16, and got it when Moldovan volleyed a late equalizer. It did them little good, however, as in the round of 16 match atBordeaux against Croatia,Davor Šuker scored a twice-taken penalty to eliminate Romania.
Line-ups for Romania versus England at theUEFA Euro 2000
Romania had a strong qualifying campaign, winning a toughGroup 7 with Portugal,Slovakia,Hungary,Azerbaijan andLiechtenstein. The Romanians impressed, never losing and winning seven times, including a big upset inPorto after defeating Portugal thanks to a late goal scored by Dorinel Munteanu. In Bucharest, the score finished 1–1.
AtEuro 2000, held in Belgium and the Netherlands, Romania were drawn against 1996 champions Germany, semi-finalists England and Portugal. The chances for the Romanians to qualify through quarter-finals were seen as slim.
Romania, however, started brightly against the Germans inLiège, with Viorel Moldovan scoring from close range. A long-rangeMehmet Scholl equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky afterCostinha headed a last minute winner for Portugal in their second match.
Emerich Jenei, back as coach, threw caution to the wind in the last match inCharleroi against England, a must-win match for Romania. DefenderCristian Chivu's cross went in off the post in the 22nd minute, but despite Romania dominating, England led at half-time through an Alan Shearer penalty and a late Michael Owen goal after he rounded goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea to score a tap-in, both in the last five minutes of the half. Romania attacked after the break and were quickly rewarded; Dorinel Munteanu punishing a poor punch fromNigel Martyn, a late replacement for injured goalkeeper David Seaman, to equalize three minutes after the restart. England cracked under the pressure. Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late onPhil Neville, playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored byIoan Ganea in the 89th minute.
Romania's relief was tempered by tough opposition in the last eight, and Italy, who would end up seconds from being crowned European champions in an agonizing final, comfortably saw them off 2–0 inBrussels.Francesco Totti andFilippo Inzaghi scoring towards the end of the first half. In the 35th minute, Gheorghe Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeperFrancesco Toldo stranded off his line and, after the break, was sent off for diving. Romania's tournament was over and Emerich Jenei left his job as coach again.
Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drewSlovenia, who had been surprise qualifiers for Euro 2000 in a playoff for a place in the2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. A narrow 2–1 deficit – having led through aMarius Niculae goal – after the first leg inLjubljana was not irretrievable. With fan hero Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side, they were confident of getting the win they needed in Bucharest against theBalkan upstarts, but Slovenia took the lead before the hour throughMladen Rudonja. Right wing-backCosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and Slovenia, with maverick managerSrečko Katanec, were in a major tournament again.
Romania were confident of qualifying for the tournament, drawn in Group 2 with seeds Denmark,Norway,Bosnia and Herzegovina and minnowsLuxembourg, with Anghel Iordănescu back as coach. Despite a good start – a 3–0 win away to Bosnia inSarajevo – Romania stuttered.Steffen Iversen's late goal gave Norway a surprise win in Bucharest and they were stunned at home by the Danes, 5–2, withThomas Gravesen scoring a spectacular goal from around 50 yards out, after leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and earning a point inOslo, but conceded a cutting injury time equalizer in Denmark to draw 2–2. It was decisive, as they now required Norway to fail to win at home to Luxembourg to stand any realistic chance of qualifying. Eventually, the Danes got a point in Bosnia to scrape through a tight group, with Norway going to a play-off with Spain.
Romania were drawn with theNetherlands and theCzech Republic, who were ranked first and second in Europe respectively in2006 World Cupqualification. Early wins over Finland andMacedonia were unconvincing, and they were behind the two leaders by the time they earned a 2–0 home win over the Czechs. Despite a record of eight wins, three losses and one draw, they finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament.
Romania were drawn in a group with the Netherlands again, along with Bulgaria forEuro 2008 qualifying. Romania, however, performed well, losing only away against Bulgaria and beating the Netherlands 1–0 at home with a goal scored byDorin Goian from a suspiciousoffside position not seen by refereeKyros Vassaras. On 17 October 2007, Romania became the fourth team to qualify forEuro 2008, the nation's first international tournament since Euro 2000. Coincidentally,Victor Pițurcă also led Romania to qualification for Euro 2000, only to sit back and let Emerich Jenei coach the team in the final tournament; this time, however, he stayed in the role, the first time he coached a national team in the final stages of a tournament.
Romania was drawn in the so-called "Group of death" alongside the Netherlands, world champions Italy and France, runners-up in the 2006 World Cup. Romania started with a 0–0 draw against a lacklustre France while Italy were soundly beaten by the Netherlands, 3–0. In their next match, against Italy,Adrian Mutu opened the scoring early in the second half. Their lead was a very short one, however, as Italy'sChristian Panucci scored a minute later off of a corner kick. Nearing the end of the match,Daniel Niculae earned a penalty for his team, but goalkeeperGianluigi Buffon saved the subsequent Mutu penalty, leaving Romania with two points and needing a win against the Netherlands, who defeated France 4–1 that same evening. The Netherlands beat Romania 2–0 in the final game of the group, which meant that Italy joined the Netherlands in the quarter-finals and Romania finished third, ahead of France.
Arena Națională, opened in 2011, the national stadium of Romania, as seen on a Romanian stamp (2011)Romanian fans at the new Arena Națională in June 2013
Romania were drawn into the UEFA qualifying round for the2010 World Cup alongside France,Serbia,Austria,Lithuania and theFaroe Islands. Although Romania were seeded in the second pot, they eventually finished fifth, above only the Faroe Islands. Their campaign was a disaster that began with a 3–0 home loss to Lithuania and included a 5–0 trashing in Belgrade by Serbia. Furthermore, various problems were caused during the poor campaign, such as the retirement from international football of Cosmin Contra, Mirel Rădoi and Adrian Mutu (the latter would later be recalled after a year's absence). Coach Victor Pițurcă resigned and was replaced byRăzvan Lucescu.
InEuro 2012 qualifying, Romania was drawn intoGroup D along with France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg. Although the team initially seemed prepared to continue their awful form from their disastrous World Cup campaign, beginning with a 1–1 draw with Pot 5 members Albania and following up with a goalless draw with Belarus and a pair of losses to France and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the team was able to rebound somewhat and register their first two victories. The first was a win against Luxembourg and the second was an important win in the rematch against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Romania's last decent result came when they battled France to a goalless draw before ending the campaign the way it began – two disappointing draws with Albania and Belarus. They finished qualification in a distant third place and only one point ahead of Belarus.
Romania were drawn into the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying round with the Netherlands,Turkey, Hungary,Estonia and Andorra. They made an impressive start with a 2–0 away win in Estonia followed by a 4–0 win at home against modest Andorra and another away win in Turkey (1–0). After that, Romania were defeated by the Netherlands, both at home and away, and managed to secure only a draw in Hungary, in between. Romania started the last part of the campaign with a victory at home, against Hungary, but was defeated by Turkey. The last two match days were decisive, with Romania securing its place in the play-off with two wins, against Andorra and Estonia, while qualification rivals Turkey and Hungary were both defeated by the winner of the group, the Netherlands. Romania were drawn to play Greece for a place in the World Cup finals, but a 3–1 loss in Greece and a 1–1 home draw ended its run.
For the qualifying stage of theEuro 2016 Romania was drawn intoGroup F along with Greece, Hungary, Finland,Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Romania began its first successful qualification campaign since 2008 with a win over Greece before following up with a 1–1 draw with Pot 2 team Hungary and a 2–0 win over Finland. Despite the initial success, Romania decided to part with coach Victor Pițurcă by mutual consent. Anghel Iordănescu came out of retirement to return to coach Romania for a third time.
Under Iordănescu, Romania was able to follow up with comfortable 2–0 win over Northern Ireland and, despite a disappointing 1–0 win over the Faroe Islands and a 0–0 draw in the return game against Northern Ireland, Romania remained on top of Group F, one point above Northern Ireland and three points above third-placed Hungary. After a goalless draw in the match against Hungary inBudapest, however, the team fell back on the second place, one point behind Northern Ireland and three above Hungary, still placed third. Following a 1–1 draw clinched in overtime at home against Finland, Romania secured their spot at the final tournament in the last game after a confident 3–0 win in the Faroe Islands. Romania finished the qualification group second, one point behind group winners Northern Ireland, completing their first successful qualification campaign in eight years undefeated after five wins and five draws. With only two goals conceded, Romania had the best defence in the qualifiers.
Romania advanced toEuro 2016, where they were drawn inGroup A, being named to play the opening match against the hostsFrance. The match began better for the Romanian side, who almost scored the first goal of the tournament in the fourth minute, afterBogdan Stancu tricked the French defence at a corner kick executed by his co-nationalNicușor Stanciu and his shot was narrowly saved by the French goalkeeperHugo Lloris. Shortly after the half-time, France dominated, and scored the first goal of the tournament after a header byOlivier Giroud in the 57th minute. Less than eight minutes later, Nicușor Stanciu was fouled byPatrice Evra in the French box, and Hungarian refereeViktor Kassai gave Romania a penalty which Bogdan Stancu scored. With the match coming to an end, just after Romania narrowly missed an opportunity after a free kick,Dimitri Payet shot hard from outside the box and scored France's second goal, crushing Romania's dream of a perfect start in the Euros.
In the second match, Romania facedSwitzerland, in a match that began with the Swiss side dominating. In the 17th minute,Alexandru Chipciu was fouled in the box, the second penalty of the tournament being accorded again to Romania. The same Bogdan Stancu went on and scored, giving an advantage for the Romanian side. Just after Switzerland almost scored an own goal,Admir Mehmedi scored for an equalizer in the 57th minute. The match eventually finished in a 1–1 draw.
With one point accumulated and on the third place in the group before the final match, Romania needed a victory againstAlbania in order to be among the first four best-third-placed teams and to qualify further in Euro. The match began good for the Romanian side, butArmando Sadiku's header in the 43rd minute went pastCiprian Tătărușanu, giving Albania the lead and their first ever goal in a tournament. The despondent Romanian side failed to score in this match, withFlorin Andone striking the post in the 76th minute. The negative score meant that Romania ended on the last place of the group, ending their Euro dream with no victory and after one draw, two defeats, two goals scored (both from penalties) and four conceded, with only one point, the poor results making the managerAnghel Iordănescu to resign before the matches for the2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers began three months later.
It was German managerChristoph Daum who took the place of Anghel Iordănescu for the next qualifying campaign. Due to FIFA's ranking revamp, Romania was drawn from Pot 1, having to faceDenmark,Poland,Montenegro,Armenia andKazakhstan. The campaign began with a mediocre 1–1 draw against Montenegro inCluj-Napoca, followed by a thrashing 5–0 victory inYerevan against Armenia before another mediocre draw inAstana against Kazakhstan, a 0–3 defeat in Bucharest and a 1–3 defeat inWarsaw against Poland, a lacklustre 0–0 draw against Denmark in Cluj-Napoca and a lucky victory in the last minutes against Armenia in Bucharest.
With only nine points after seven fixtures, Romania had to win against the revelation of the group, Montenegro, inPodgorica, but failed amid aStevan Jovetić winner and were mathematically eliminated, leading to the sacking of Daum and his replacement withCosmin Contra. This defeat was followed by a 3–1 victory against Kazakhstan inPloiești before a lucky 1–1 draw against Denmark inCopenhagen. Romania ended fourth in the group, with 13 points, twelve goals scored and ten conceded.
The poor performance in the qualifiers meant Romania would be in the League C of UEFA's first season of the new competition, theNations League. They were drawn against neighboursSerbia, Montenegro again andBaltic sideLithuania.
In the first match, Romania registered yet another mediocre result against Montenegro, in a 0–0 draw in Ploiești, before a double comeback in Serbia in a 2–2 draw and a late-winner inVilnius against Lithuania. This was followed by another 0–0 draw in Bucharest against Serbia, in whichDušan Tadić missed a penalty and a comfortable 3–0 victory over Lithuania in Ploiești.
Overall results meant that it was possible for Romania to win the group shall it win in Podgorica against Montenegro and Serbia lose to Lithuania inBelgrade. Despite Romania actually emerging victorious from the duel against the Montenegrins, Serbia comfortably won against Lithuania and won the group. However, following UEFA's revamp of the competition, Romania, as the second place, promoted too inLeague B for the next edition.
For the qualifiers of Euro 2020, Romania was drawn in a group includingSpain,Sweden, andNorway alongsideMalta andthe Faroe Islands. In the opening game, Romania suffered a 1–2 defeat to Sweden inStockholm, followed by a comfortable 4–1 victory over the Faroe Islands in Cluj-Napoca and a 2–2 draw with Norway inOslo, withClaudiu Keșerü scoring in the last minute.
Eventually, Romania stayed on track by defeating Malta in a 4–0 victory in Valletta, but it was later followed by a defeat to Spain in Bucharest, with two very late misses fromGeorge Pușcaș andDragoș Grigore, and a poor 1–0 victory against Malta. This meant Romania had to win against Norway in October, but after a goal fromAlexandru Mitriță in the 62nd minute,Alexander Sørloth scored in the last minute and the match in Bucharest ended 1–1. This had significantly reduced their chances of automatic qualification, as they had to meet the Swedish and Spanish sides for the two remaining competitive games.
A 0–2 defeat to Sweden in Bucharest ensured Romania's fail to finish on any of the automatic qualification places. In the last matchday, they were thrashed by Spain in Madrid in a 0–5 defeat, meaning they would end the campaign with seventeen goals scored but also fifteen conceded. Due to the revamp of the previous Nations League and poor performance of Greece, Romania managed to grab the last spot for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs, and was drawn in Path A. Shall it had won it, Romania would have been drawn in Group C of the final tournament, but it did not, Iceland winning inReykjavík and eliminating them. Their performance cost Cosmin Contra his coaching position, as he was changed withMirel Rădoi before the play-offs.[6][7][8]
For the second Nations League edition, Romania was drawn against Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland. A very lacklustre 1–1 draw against Northern Ireland in the first matchday was followed by an impressing 3–2 victory over Austria inKlagenfurt am Wörthersee. This meant that, after the first two matchdays, Romania was on the first place and supposed to promote to League A, but a 0–4 defeat to Norway in Oslo and a 0–1 defeat to Austria on homesoil meant Romania would fall back on the third place before the last two matches.
For the home match against Norway, the Romanians were given a 3–0 victory from UEFA after the impossibility of Norwegians to travel to Bucharest, followingOmar Elabdellaoui's positive test forCOVID-19 and the restrictive measures imposed by the Norwegian Ministry of Health. Another 1–1 draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast meant Romania would end on the third position and remain in League B.[9]
Following an acceptable Nations League campaign, Romania was drawn from Pot 2 in the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, in a group withGermany, Euro 2016 revelationIceland who eliminated them fromUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs two months prior, future revelationNorth Macedonia, Armenia again andLiechtenstein. In their first match, Romania managed a hard victory over North Macedonia in Bucharest after two quick Macedonian goals and a late winner fromIanis Hagi. Three days later, Germany managed a victory over them on the same stadium despite a huge opportunity fromNicolae Stanciu in the last minutes. This was followed by a shameful 2–3 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan.[10]
Poor performance in the June friendlies, combined with the results so far gave the feeling of another poor World Cup campaign, just like last time, before a shocking 2–0 victory over Iceland inReykjavík, followed by a mediocre 2–0 victory over Liechtenstein and a 0–0 draw inSkopje against North Macedonia. Initial group revelation Armenia fell behind in the following matches and it was Romania and North Macedonia who'd fight for the second place, but despite a heroic defeat to Germany, in which Romania held the lead for almost an hour, and a victory over Armenia in Bucharest, a 0–0 draw against Iceland meant that Romania would depend on Iceland to hold a draw against North Macedonia in the last matchday. North Macedonia won, however, and went over Romania by a single point, eliminating them from another campaign.
Romania was drawn from Pot 3 in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League season, in a group againstBosnia and Herzegovina,Finland and Montenegro. In a similar scenario like five years prior, Montenegro comfortably won against Romania 2–0 in Podgorica, which was then followed by another defeat, to Bosnia and Herzegovina inZenica and a lacklustre victory over Finland in Bucharest.
With little to nothing achieved so far, Romania was crushed by Montenegro in Bucharest in a 0–3 defeat, meaning that chances to retain the place in League B were dim. A 1–1 draw against Finland inHelsinki meant Romania was again at the expense of other team, this time Montenegro, who needed not to lose against Finland, which eventually happened despite Romania's comfortable victory over eventual group winners Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, Romania relegated toLeague C for the next Nations League edition.
The Nations League performance meant Romania would be drawn from Pot 3 in Euro 2024 qualifiers, which led them to agroup withSwitzerland,Israel,Kosovo,Belarus andAndorra. Two initial victories against Andorra and Belarus in Bucharest, followed by a lacklustre 0–0 against Kosovo inPristina gave the impression of another despondent campaign before a shocking comeback against Switzerland inLucerne,Valentin Mihăilă scoring a brace in the last three minutes. This was then followed by a 1–1 draw against Israel in Bucharest before acontroversial match against Kosovo; the match was interrupted for almost an hour after Romanian fans began chastising Kosovar players and chantinganti-NATO chants, with the Kosovars leaving the pitch in protest. Two late goals for Romania after the match restarted, a draw against Belarus onneutral pitch because of theirinvolvement with theRussian military operations in Ukraine and a comfortable victory over Andorra meant Romania had to obtain a single point in the ninth matchday in order to mathematically qualify for Euro 2024.
In the ninth matchday. Romania faced a tired Israeli side, who had to play four games in nine days because of the Israel-Palestine war,on neutral pitch.Eran Zahavi stunned Romania in the 88th second of the match beforeGeorge Pușcaș scored an equalizer eight minutes later. One hour in the match, Ianis Hagi assured Romania's qualification to Euro 2024 with a goal that meant Romania would win 2–1 over Israel. Moreover, Romania went on and won against Switzerland in Bucharest too, meaning they would win the group and be drawn from Pot 2 at the final tournament, in a heroic act of the Tricolours.[11][12][13][14]
EURO 2024 Matchday 1 game opening Romania vs Ukraine
At the final tournament, Romania was drawn againstBelgium,Slovakia and neighboursUkraine inGroup E. In the first matchday, Romania met Ukraine inMunich, and achieved their best result in theEuropean Championship final tournament: a Nicolae Stanciu screamer that came in as the fourth most beautiful goal of the tournament, a long shot fromRăzvan Marin and a tap-in fromDenis Drăguș gave Romania a 3–0 victory after not playing in an international tournament for eight years. The victory was only the second victory of Romania at a European Championship, the first and only other one being againstEngland in2000 in a 3–2 with a last minute winner.[15] Following this performance, in the second matchday, Romania was stunned byYouri Tielemans of Belgium in the 74th second, and despite putting a decent fight, lost the match 0–2,Kevin De Bruyne scoring a controversial goal in the final minutes.
All the four teams had the same amount of points at the end of the second matchday, three, but because of the overall goal difference, Romania was on the first position at this point, with three goals scored and a +1 difference. In the third matchday, Slovakia and Romania drew in a comfortable match as both teams assured qualification at that score, as neither Ukraine or Belgium managed to win the other match. With the table unchanged from the second matchday, Romania was crowned as the group winner despite all the teams ending with four points, having a victory against fourth place Ukraine, a better goal difference than third place Slovakia and more goals scored than second place Belgium.
In the Round of 16, Romania returned to Munich and facedthe Netherlands. Despite a good start,Cody Gakpo stunned the Tricolours in the 20th minute, beforeDonyell Malen's brace in the last minutes. Despite losing 0–3 against the Dutch side and leaving the tournament relatively early, Romania's performance was praised by numerous figures of the football world, achieving a very good result for the overall level of the national team.
Romania then secured promotion toLeague B for the2026-2027 edition of the Nations League thanks to a perfect record of 6 wins in as many matches against their 3 opponents, Kosovo,Cyprus andLithuania, including a green-card home win in the return against Kosovo after the Kosovar players decided to abandon the match following incidents in the stands.
However, Romania fell back into the pattern of recent years and jeopardised their chances of qualification by losing at home at the start of the2026 World Cup qualifiers againstBosnia (0–1), their main rival for the 2nd play-off place behind group favourites Austria, on 21 March 2025, while the Bosnians were still on a negative run; after a disappointing Romanian performance against an opponent that was more aggressive both offensively and defensively, and during a match that saw a refereeing controversy with a penalty not awarded to the Romanians for a Bosnian handball in the penalty area.
Romania's most fierce rivalry is against their neighboursHungary. The reason for the rivalry are the general feelings for the other country, as Hungary and Romania have along-standing dispute over certain parts of Romania that were historically part of Hungary, most well-known beingTransylvania. This has been the subject of the constant squabble between Hungarian and Romanian fans during the direct matches of the two countries or clubs from them.
The first match between the two countries took place in Bucharest, on 4 October 1936. Romania initially took the lead throughSilviu Bindea, but two goals in the second half scored byGyula Lázár andGéza Toldi led to Hungary's victory. At that moment, Hungary was, if not the best, among the best teams on the planet, and after this result, impressive results of the Hungarians were obtained during their matches against Romania, most notably the worst defeat of Romania to date, a 0–9 defeat in Budapest on 6 June 1948. Other notable Hungarian victories include the 7–2 on 30 September 1945, two 5-1s, one in Bucharest on 24 October 1948 and one in Budapest on 19 September 1954, and a 3–0 in Bucharest on 12 October 1947.
Romania's first victory against Hungary came almost 63 years after the first match, in the seventeenth derby overall. Romania won 2–0 in Bucharest on 5 June 1999, in thequalifying stage of UEFA Euro 2000. Since then, Hungary has yet to defeat Romania again, and Romania won five more times, including a notable 3–0 in thequalifying stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Due to the general antipathy between the two peoples, derbies often led to skirmishes between the two fans. The worst incidents were recorded on 6 September 2013 and 11 October 2014, during the derbies of the two countries in Bucharest for the 2014 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2016, respectively. During the first match, Hungarians lit many flames, booed theRomanian anthem, and after the 0–3 defeat were quickly transported back home, not before some of them fought with Romanian fans in theOld Town of Bucharest. After Romania's elimination in theSecond Round byGreece, many Hungarians thanked Greeks and publicly insulted Romania on their social media accounts. One year later, the fights between the two groups of fans led to 58 people seeking medical care after Romanian fans jumped the fence separating their sector from the one Hungarian fans were in and attacked them. The match ended 1-1 and fights were again commenced in the Old Town, where many terraces of the local coffee shops and bars were destroyed by Hungarian fans.[16]
A notable rivalry was built with Greece, as it is the team Romania has met the most times: thirty-six (Romania met Yugoslavia thirty-seven times, a record which was annulled after the dismantle of Yugoslavia). Out of all the matches overall, Romania won eighteen of them, dominating the rivalry. Greece won an additional eight matches and ten ended in a draw.
The only notable opportunity the two teams have met was in the Second Round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, to which Greece qualifying after defeating Romania in a two-legged play-off, winning 3–1 inAthens and drawing 1–1 in Bucharest.
In the last period, a small rivalry was built againstMontenegro. The two teams met a total of seven times, and Romania's 4–0 victory in a friendly on 31 May 2008 was Montenegro's biggest defeat up to a 0–7 defeat in London in 2019. The teams met in the qualifying stage of the2018 FIFA World Cup, and it was Montenegro who eliminated Romania after a 1–0 victory inPodgorica which came after a 1–1 draw on Romanian soil. The two teams met again one year later, inGroup 4 of League C of theinaugural season of theUEFA Nations League. Romania avenged itself with a 1–0 victory in Podgorica, which was not enough however to win the group over mutual neighbourSerbia. In the third edition of the same competition, the two teams met again, this time Montenegro decimating Romania twice, 2–0 in Podgorica and 3–0 in Bucharest.
Romania is a strong supporter of Serbia's territorial integrity andhas not recognized the legitimacy ofKosovo's independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The two teams met only four times, but all the matches led to problems and antipathy feelings between the two peoples.
On 12 September 2023, the two teams met in Bucharest for thequalifying stage of UEFA Euro 2024. In the eighteenth minute, the Kosovar players left the pitch in a protest after a bottle was thrown from the Romanian sector, which was combined with the two banners quoting "Basarabia e România” (”Bessarabia is Romania” inRomanian) and ”Kosovo je Srbija” (”Kosovo is Serbia” inSerbian) and the constantpro-Serbia chants of the Romanian extremist fanbase ”Uniți sub Tricolor” (”United under Tricolour”). The match was interrupted for fifty minutes and theFootball Federation of Kosovo appealed for a 3–0 victory over Romania because of the incidents, which was turned down by UEFA. Romania won the match 2-0.
The two teams have met again in the first leg match ingroup of League C of the UEFA Nations League, season2024–25. The match took place on Kosovo'sFadil Vokrri Stadium, on 6 September . Once again, the mutual animosity between the two sides was evident, as during the opening ceremony, the Kosovar fans booed while the Romanian anthem was playing. At the end of the match, after a decisive 3–0 victory for Romania, the Kosovar fans threw various objects at Romania's squad while they were leaving the pitch.[17]
When Romania played againstLithuania on 9 September, Romanian fans chanted anti-Kosovo messages which resulted in a €52,500 fine and a partial closure ofArena Națională for the match against Kosovo the very next month.[18]
Already a tense match after the incidents in Kosovo and Lithuania, the two sides faced each other again in Bucharest. A victory for the hosts would have meant promotion to League B of thecompetition's next season. Kosovo needed a 3 goals difference victory in order to take Romania's spot before the last matchday, and dominated the match. As the final whistle was approaching, after suffering a tackle, Kosovar playerAlbion Rrahmani attacked Romanian playerDenis Alibec, before both teams began fighting on the pitch, the Danish referee booking three players, two of Kosovo and one of Romania. The Romanians proceeded to take a free kick, a moment again disrupted by the Kosovars as they walked over the Romanian fan sector to engage in a verbal fight with the Romanian fans who allegedly began shouting "Serbia! Serbia!".[19]
In the 97th minute of the match, four minutes after the fight between Alibec and Rrahamni took place, the Kosovars left the pitch despitetheir manager's plead not to. While leaving the pitch, Kosovo's goalkeeperArijanet Muric was seen showing the middle finger to the Romanian fans. The Romanian team remained on the pitch for one more hour until the referee suspended the match. Meanwhile, the Kosovar players trashed their changing room, leaked pictures of trash and pizza being posted online. Problems continued even after this, with both delegations almost fighting again in the press conference room.[20]
The match was counted as "abandoned". No matter the final result, Romania was crowned as the group winner after a 4–1 victory againstCyprus three days later, despite the final result still pending. However, on 20 November, five days after the match, UEFA announced that Romania won the match 3–0, but will have to play one match at homewithout fans and face a €128,000 fine, while Kosovo would also receive a €6,000 fine for forfeiting the match.
Romania's kits have been supplied by Spanish companyJoma from 2015, which replacedAdidas following a three-decade contract[citation needed]. In 2017, the Romanian Football Federation announced its first brand identity and a new kit; the new emblem references the coat of arms of all five Romanian provinces with the intention to symbolise the unity of Romania.[21] In March 2025, Romanian Football Federation launched a new home and away kit for the 2025–26 World Cup Qualifiers, designed in collaboration with Jean Octavian Popescu.source
Romania'sUEFA Nations League games, major tournament qualifiers and friendlies are to be televised onPro TV up until 2022. Between 2008 and 2014,Antena 1 had the rights to broadcast the country's home matches, friendlies and qualifiers. From 2014 to 2018, Romania's qualifying matches for the European Championship and the World Cup, plus two pre-Euro and one post-Euro friendly match were taken over byTVR. The friendly matches that were not broadcast by TVR were taken over by Pro TV. In March 2019, the latter took over all broadcasts of Romania's fixtures from TVR, with the effective broadcasting starting in September 2018.
In 2014, Cristian Manea (pictured) broke Grațian Sepi's record from 1928 for being the youngest debutant of Romania. He was surpassed by Enes Sali in 2021.
Football at the Summer Olympics was first played officially in1908. The Olympiads between 1896 and 1980 were only open foramateur players. The 1984 and 1988 tournaments were open to players with no appearances in the World Cup. After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 teams, with a maximum of three older players. SeeRomania Olympic football team for competition records from 1992 until present day.
^Egypt were to play Romania in December 1937 in the qualification round, however Egypt refused to play during the Ramadan month, and as a result were withdrawn from the competition by FIFA, so Romania qualified automatically.
MacDonald, Tom (2002).The World Encyclopedia of Soccer: A Complete Guide to the Beautiful Game. Anness Publishing.ISBN978-0-7548-1124-4.
Melenco, Ionel; Caraiola, Dragoș; Popa, Cristian (2020).Istoria echipei naționale de fotbal a României. Ovidius University Press.ISBN978-6-0606-0007-7.
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