The is the national
Football team of
Romania and is controlled by the
Romanian Football Federation .
Romania is one of only four national teams (the other three being
Brazil ,
France , and
Belgium ) to participate in the first three World Cups. However, they then qualified only once between the
1950 and
1986 editions. Romania then had a solid run through the
1990s , advancing to the second round or better in three consecutive World Cups. The period was highlighted by the
1994 World Cup where Romania, led by
Gheorghe Hagi , reached the quarterfinals and defeated
Argentina 3-2 before losing to
Sweden on penalty kicks. In
Euro 2000 they drew 1-1 with
Germany and defeated
England 3-2 to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runners-up
Italy .
The team has had less success since
2001 , narrowly missing qualification for the
2002 and
2006 World Cups and also missing out on
Euro 2004 . Romania are drawn with
The Netherlands ,
Bulgaria ,
Slovenia ,
Belarus ,
Luxembourg and
Albania in Group G of
Euro 2008 qualification.
Romania played their first international match on 8th June 1922, a 2-1 win over
Yugoslavia in
Belgrade , coached by
Teofil Moraru .
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 ; manager
Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three
FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by
Brazil and
Belgium .
At the
1930 World Cup , Romania won their first match against
Peru , 3-1, with goals from
Adalbert Desu ,
Constantin Stanciu and
Nicolae Kovács , before being thrashed 4-0 by hosts and eventual winners
Uruguay .
Romania qualified for the
Next 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 to
Czechoslovakia in
Trieste ,
Italy , with
Ştefan Dobay scoring their only goal of the tournament.
Romania qualified by default for the
1938 World Cup after their qualifying playoff opponents
Egypt withdrew. They suffered a shock defeat in the finals in
France , losing to minnows
Cuba , who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents,
Mexico . The first match at the
Stade Chapou in
Toulouse ended 3-3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2-1.
Between 1938 and 1970 Romania failed to qualify for any major international tournaments.
Participation in the World Cup was finally achieved once again in
1970 in
Mexico , although qualification came on the back of a 3-0 thrashing by
Portugal in
Lisbon and two unconvincing draws against unfancied
Greece .
Angelo Niculescu 's promising were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders
England , giants
Brazil and
Czechoslovakia .
A
Geoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romania's first match at the
Estadio Jalisco in
Guadalajara . Chances were improved with a 2-1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a
Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with
Alexandru Neagu and
Florea Dumitrache scoring to give them two vital points. Even then, only a win over the excellent 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; Despite beating them 1-0 in their previous match in Guadalajara, the South American giants still viewed England as one of their biggest obstacles to tournament victory. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with
Pelé scoring twice and a
Jairzinho goal in between. Romania battled bravely;
Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2-1 before the break and a late
Emerich Dembrowski goal made it 3-2, but they were out.
On 26th September 1973, under new coach
Valentin Stanculescu ,
Romania suffered a significant defeat to
East Germany in
Leipzig . The East Germans won 2-0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which
Would Be Held Over The Border in
West Germany . With East Germany scoring a predictable 4-1 win in
Albania , Romania were out, despite a huge 9-0 win over
Finland in
Bucharest .
Romania continued to suffer poor form in the
UEFA European Championship . In their qualifying group for the
1976 European Football Championship , they were out-qualified by
Spain , despite an impressive 1-1 draw in the away match. Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with
Scotland and
Spain and dropping points in
Denmark with a dismal goalless draw.
Romania were again beat by
Spain for a place in the
1978 World Cup in
Argentina . Despite a 1-0 win in
Bucharest , Romania lost a bizarre match at home to
Yugoslavia 6-4 having led 3-2 at half time.
Spain won 1-0 in
Belgrade to seal passage to South America.
Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in
1984 in
France . At the finals, Romania were drawn with regular rivals
Spain , holders
West Germany and dark horses
Portugal . Under head coach
Mircea Lucescu , an encouraging opening game in
Saint-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 from
Laszlo Bölöni .
Against
The Germans in
Lens ,
Marcel Coras scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half in response to
Rudi Völler 's opener, but Völler would score a winning goal. Their last match in
Nantes was a must-win match, but
Nené 's late winner meant
Portugal progressed with
Spain , who netted a dramatic late winner against
West Germany at the
Parc Des Princes in
Paris .
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 at
Italia 90 . A win over
Denmark in their last match took took
Emerich Jenei 's side to the finals for the first time in twenty years.
Romania's squad was entirely domestic based, despite an increasing trend for the major sides in Italy and Spain buying up the best foreign talent. Midfielder
Ilie Dumitrescu , striker
Florin Răducioiu and genius playmaker
Gheorghe Hagi , then of
Steaua Bucharest , were in the squad, but it was forward
Gavril Balint who would prove the hero in the first round.
With World Champions
Argentina stunned by
Cameroon in the tournament's opening match,
Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the
USSR at the
San Nicola in
Bari , with
Marius Lăcătuş scoring in either half. The result was all the more impressive given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus's second was a penalty given for a handball by
Vagiz Khidiatulin that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area.
Romania were the next victims of
Cameroon in Bari. Cult hero
Roger Milla , 38 years of age, came on as a substitute for
Emmanuel Maboang Kessack and scored twice, before
Balint pulled one back. Romania needed a point in their last match against improving
Argentina at the
San Paolo in
Naples .
Pedro Monzón gave Argentina the lead after an hour, but Balint quickly equalized and Romania held on to reach Round 2.
Against
Jack Charlton 's
Ireland side in
Genoa , Romania didn't have the quality to break down a defensive opposition.
Daniel Timofte was the only player to miss in the
Penalty Shoot-out - his kick saved by
Packie Bonner - and Romania were out. In the process, Ireland became the smallest country ever to progress that far in a
FIFA World Cup .
Romania missed out on
Euro 92 .
Scotland qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in
Sofia against
Bulgaria , with
Nasko Sirakov 's equalizer sealing their fate.
They were successful, though, in
Reaching Another World Cup in the
United States in 1994. Despite losing in
Belgium and suffering a heavy 5-2 defeat in
Czechoslovakia , Romania went into their last match at
Cardiff Arms Park with
Wales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from
Gheorghe Hagi and
Dean Saunders meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty.
Paul Bodin of
Swindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2-1,
Răducioiu 's late goal proving unnecessary as
Czechoslovakia dropped a point in
Belgium and were knocked out.
At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages with
Hagi ,
Răducioiu and
Dumitrescu on form. Romania beat
Colombia - dark horses and
Pelé 's tip for the tournament - at the
Pasadena Rose Bowl in
Los Angeles 3-1. Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline.
Adolfo Valencia shredded their nerves with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third.
In
Detroit 's
Pontiac Silverdome , the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena.
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 surprising 4-1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1-0 in
Pasadena with an early
Dan Petrescu goal.
In Round 2 they faced
Argentina , who were shorn of
Diego Maradona who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs. Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach
Anghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first twenty minutes, one a superbly 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 superb third on the counter attack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper
Luis Islas .
Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win.
Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again, in the Quarter Final against
Sweden . With just thirteen minutes to go, a tight match opened up as Sweden's
Thomas Brolin scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall by
Håkan Mild for Brolin to smash in. 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 by
Patrik Andersson , but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant striker
Kennet Andersson climbed above goalkeeper
Florin Prunea to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replace
Bogdan Stelea , whose confidence was shattered by the 4-1 loss to the Swiss. In the shoot-out, Petrescu and
Miodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved by
Thomas Ravelli and Sweden went through.
In
England , Romania arrived as a highly tought-of and popular team but had a nightmare. Iordănescu's side were based in the north east, with their first two games at
St James' Park in
Newcastle . Against
France , they lost to a
Christophe Dugarry header reminiscent of
Kennet Andersson 's two years earlier, beating the goalkeeper to a lofted through ball. A brilliant early solo goal by
Hristo Stoichkov saw
Bulgaria knock out their neighbours, although Romania claimed they should have had a goal awarded when the ball struck the bar and bounced behind the goal-line. They finally scored in their last game,
Florin Răducioiu equalizing an early goal by
Spain 's
Javier Manjarín .
Spain had to win to qualify with
France at the expence of
Bulgaria and did so when
Guillermo Amor stooped to head a late winner. Romania exited with no points and little to cheer.
Despite a dreadful
Euro 96 , Romania were seeded when they qualified for the
1998 World Cup with an impressive record in qualifying, finishing ten points clear of
Ireland . Despite being drawn in a group with
England , getting through it was perceived to be easy work with a waning
Colombia and minnows
Tunisia .
Adrian Ilie scored the only goal with a fine chip in their first match against
Colombia at
Lyon 's
Stade Gerland . In
Toulouse , they met an
England side starting with prodigal striker
Michael Owen on the bench, with
Teddy Sheringham preferred alongside
Alan Shearer . A mistake by
Tony Adams was punished by
Viorel Moldovan , who played for
Coventry City , before Owen came on to claim an equalizer. But Romania won with a wonderful late goal from
Dan Petrescu , also playing in England with
Chelsea , fighting off his club mate
Graeme Le Saux and nutmegging goalkeeper
David Seaman .
Having already qualified, Romania bizarrely decided to dye their hair blonde before their last match against
Tunisia . Despite
England v
Colombia being the more decisive game, the
Stade De France in
Paris was an 80,000 sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock as
Skander Souayeh scored an early penalty to give the north Africans the lead.
Romania needed a point to win the group and, crucially, avoid
Argentina in Round 2, and got it when Moldovan volleyed a late equalizer. It did them little good, however, as in the Round of 16 match at
Bordeaux ,
Davor Šuker scored a twice-taken penalty in a poor match and Romania were out.
Romania were not expected to progress through a group containing
Portugal ,
England and
Germany . Hagi's powers were waning, Dumitrescu and Rǎducioiu were no longer on the scene and hopes were pinned on young
Internazionale forward
Adrian Mutu . Romania started brightly against the
Germans in
Liège , with
Moldovan scoring from close range. A long-range
Mehmet Scholl equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky after
Costinha 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 in
Charleroi against
England , a match which
Romania had to win. Defender
Cristian 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
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 from
Nigel Martyn , a late replacement for the injured
Seaman to equalize three minutes after the re-start.
England cracked under the pressure. Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late on
Phil Neville , playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored by
Ioan 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 in
Brussels .
Francesco Totti and
Filippo Inzaghi scoring towards the end of the first half. After the break Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeper
Francesco Toldo stranded off his line and was magnanimously sent off for diving. Romania's tournament was over and
Jenei , an ethnic Hungarian as were many of Romania's players of his generation, left his job as coach again.
Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drew
Slovenia , who had been surprise qualifiers for
Euro 2000 in a playoff for a place in the
2002 World Cup in
South Korea and
Japan . A narrow 2-1 deficit - having led through a
Marius Niculae goal - after the first leg in
Ljubljana was not irretrievable. With fans' hero
Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in
Bucharest against the
Balkan upstarts, but
Slovenia took the lead before the hour through
Mladen Rudonja . Right wing-back
Cosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and
Slovenia , with maverick manager
Srečko Katanec , were in a major tournament again.
Romania were confident of qualifying for
Euro 2004 in
Portugal , drawn in Group 2 with seeds
Denmark ,
Norway ,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and minnows
Luxembourg . Despite a good start - a 3-0 win away to
Bosnia in
Sarajevo , 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, with
Thomas Gravesen scoring a spectacular goal from around fifty yards out, despite leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and getting a point in
Oslo , 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 put in a massive group for the qualifying tournament for the
2006 FIFA World Cup in
Germany .
Holland and
Czech Republic were favourite to qualify, then ranked first and second in Europe. Early wins over
Finland and
Macedonia were unconvincing, and they were some way behind the two leaders by the time they earned a good 2-0 home win over the Czechs. They finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament.
The following players were named for the friendly against
Turkey on
22 August 2007
Caps and goals correct as of
22 August 2007 , including the match against
Turkey .
;Goalkeepers
;Defenders
;Midfielders
;Strikers
The following players active in foreign leagues have been named for the Euro 2008 Qualifiers match agaist
Belarus on
8 September and the friendly against
Germany on
12 September 2007 .
The players active in the domestic league will be announced most possibly after the 6th round of
Liga I .
The following players played at least one
UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying match, but were not named for the qualifier against against
Belarus on
September 8 and the friendly against
Germany on
September 12 .
;Goalkeepers
;Defenders
;Midfielders
;Strikers
The following players were named for at least one
UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying match, but have not played in the qualifiers.
As of
February 12 ,
2007 , the ten players with the most caps for Romania are:
As of
June 2 ,
2007 , the ten players with the most goals for Romania are:
- The Austria n Josef Uridil is the only foreign manager who coached Romania
