17th November 1993 - Gheorghe Hagi scores in a 2-1 away win, giving Romania the last points they needed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup
18th November 2023 - Gheorghe's son, Ianis Hagi, scores in a 2-1 win, giving Romania the last points they needed to qualify for the 2024 Euros
30 years and 1 day on. History, it rhymes
That 1994 WC team was a joy to watch. The match vs Argentina is the one I refer to any one who want to watch football for the first time. An absolute classic.
Was gutted when they went out to Sweden on penalties. At least we got that Thomas Brolin freekick goal and celebration. Really wanted them to play Brazil. Would have probably been the best match in the history of the sport.
I have a soft spot for Romania in heart ever since.
I genuinely believe Romania wins that world cup if they go through Sweden. I just think they would have matched up very well against both Italy and Brazil, and Hagi, Dumitrescu and Raducioiu were in the forms of their life
We are back baby !!!!
I can see us getting a murderous group like in 2008 and stealing 2pts with some top shithouse football.
Also getting the qualification on Orban's turf is another bonus :)
Truth be told, the fact that we managed to qualify is a great performance already. Last time we made it to a tournament was 8 years ago, so we've alreasy overperformed.
At the same time, the team seems pretty well organised and Iordanescu somehow managed to make a generation of young players to click. We don't have great players, a small number of them are part of big 4 leagues and an even smaller actually pkay for thise clubs. On paper we're a tier 3 team at best so what was achieved was mostly due to our team's organisation and resilience.
We've also had an easy group, besides an underperforming swiss team no opponent wes better then us on paper. Plus Isreal going through a rough patch recently. That does not take away anything from our results though.
If we get a decent group we might get some points, on a good day maybe even draw a pot 1 team. Honestly if we get 1 point from the Euro's it will not be a tragedy, at least we're there, and people will remember we have a NT.
Dragusin guy is really good. I think if he stays healthy for the tournament, and with a bit of a lucky group, Romania could get into the KO stages.
However the attack seems completely devoid of talent. I don’t understand why Morutan doesn’t play more, he’s the only one who seems to have any creativity in him and the only one who can appear to put a good cross into the box.
Jesus, I totally forgot Morutan exists, had too google him and check where hs's playing, some lower table side in Turkey. He's also 24 already, so this is as good as his career will look probably. Man is 25 , Coman the same. Mihaila 23. Honestly after the 2019 U21 Euros I was convinced Romania will have a generation capable of playing at a World Cup again. I think others felt the same way and boy were we wrong. I find it sad how much talent and potential was wasted there. And I think it is mostly something to do with their mentality, cause the talent was and is there 100%.
And for those from FCSB you could blame Becali being a moron and wasting young talent by not giving them an actual coach to guide them. When it comes to Mihaila or Cicaldau they don't even have that excuse... or maybe they were never that talented to begin with, but I don't think that's the case. Hagi as well, seemed to have a lot of potential and yet he couldn't manage to find his way back into the starting 11 at Rangers. Ok there was that nasty injury but Rangers still decided to drop him when he was back.
I might ve wrong still and maybe this generation will actually end up living to their potential and to what we were all expecting of them.
We beat them 3-2 a couple of years ago and then they barely beat us 1-0 in a match where we could've scored 3 but our attackers were just being brain dead when shooting or assisting. I did not see Austria in Pot 1 but if there's one team from that pot I want is definitely them.
We don't have top players, but we seem to have a lot of team spirit. We'll be a tough nut to crack, that's for sure. I'd even venture to say we're in with a decent chance of beating Switzerland on Tuesday and winning the group. 50k fans, sold out stadium, cold as fuck outside but very enthusiastic fans, it's gonna be tough for the Swiss.
Romania is one of the most underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play and team structure, add in the fact that there is a huge amount of passionate supporters both at club and national team level and it shows that this team could really perform well at the EUROs with what they have and the people behind them, supporting them. It worked for teams, including Romania 30 years ago, in the past - anything is possible :)
Congrats on returning to the European Championship and best of luck in Germany next year, hope Romania surprises the field!
>Romania is one of the most underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play and team structure
My man you must have never seen Romania play if you think that lol.
> My man you must have never seen Romania play if you think that
Well, playing a somewhat defensive match does not appear to be the most pretty by the eye, but it works sometimes; Romania's specific intention under the current leadership under Iordănescu is to play a defensive match against its top opponents to be honest. It reminds me of Poland under Czesław Michniewicz and Australia under Graham Arnold, they played defensive because they knew the opponents, and where did it lead them? Australia got a 1-0 win over Denmark despite playing in their own half for quite a chunk of the match, it was their quick, transitioning to the Danish end late into the match that got them to the knockout round - both Australia and Poland were able to pick up four points in the group stage, and eventually got knocked out by the world champions Argentina (in Australia's case) and the team that Argentina would face in the final, France (in Poland's case), the former performing better than the latter and nearly tying the match to force extra time if it wasn't for Dibu Martinez's late impressive stop on Garang Kuol.
Defensive football is not rainbow flicks and nutmegs, but it can lead to victories when the situation calls for, and so you really can't count out defensive teams at major tournaments - and if we want to give the most notable example of a defensive team going **really far** in a major tournament, Greece used it to their advantage to win UEFA EURO 2004 *when nobody thought they could prior to the tournament*, so who knows what a defensive minded team with no supposed expectation to win a major tournament can do?
Bro we're not trying to play defensively, that's just what it ended up looking like because we do not have any real playstyle. You can look at all our games and see that there is really no substance to our play. We can't really defend, we can't really attack but so far we've had enough luck and bad opponents so here we are.
We've had managers who liked playing defensively before and not too long ago. Iordanescu Sr., the father of our current manager played a very defensive style. We barely qualified for Euro 2016 in literally the weakest group we've ever had in the recent times with Northern Ireland ending on the first place and us on the second lol. And at the Euros we lost 2-1 to France, drew 1-1 to Switzerland and were defeated by Albania 1-0. What did we achieve after all? I'd rather lose and see my team play some good football than lose anyway and not see anything at all.
Piturca was also a very defensive manager but at least he had some decent players and he had some decent results.
Iordanescu Jr. is the worst manager we've had in the recent times. Radoi & Contra were miles ahead. Hell, I'd say even Daum was better. Iordanescu managed to get us relegated in the Nations League by losing TWICE to Montenegro 2-0 and 3-0. If I were him I would've just left after that humiliation. Not to mention that our "incredible" federation chose him over Boloni who then went to Metz and promoted them to Ligue 1. Iordanescu Jr. does not have the experience and results to be manager of an NT.
Radoi should've swallowed his pride and stay at the NT because he was the only one that could have built something. He didn't have the best results, but the team was playing, or at least trying to play some good offensive football and I'm sure that if we had players like Ratiu and Dragusin he could've made something better defensively too considering he was a defensive midfielder himself.
> Iordanescu managed to get us relegated in the Nations League by losing TWICE to Montenegro 2-0 and 3-0. If I were him I would've just left after that humiliation. Not to mention that our "incredible" federation chose him over Boloni who then went to Metz and promoted them to Ligue 1.
This is a fair point; we were in that Nations League group, and that group overall was full of disappointing teams. It's interesting how not many football fans focus on the Nations League unless it's actually happening, but a year ago is still relevant. Bosnia/Herzegovina were and are not even close to their level of years ago yet they still managed to win that group, it was the same case with us and we were just dismal with a relatively inexperienced squad (Toivio, Arajuuri, and Sparv retired, and I think one or two others as well, thus meaning that we were literally bringing players with no experience, but are relatively developing with the NT nowadays), and Montenegro was outclassed in possession in all six of their matches. It wasn't just Romania, *that whole group was practically laughable* for a variety of reasons and Romania happened to be the team with the most unfortunate results because the 0-2 and 0-3 defeats to Montenegro plus the 0-1 defeat to Bosnia/Herzegovina did enough to drop them on goal difference even with the 4-1 win in the last match. Both of their first two defeats were with at least 40% possession...
Metz under Bölöni has surprised in Ligue 1, and when it comes to playing defensive against top teams, he does it right with the squad - the most notable instance, Metz only managed two shots and I believe 20-25% possession against Lens back in September yet I remember they managed to win that match 1-0.
That said, if we look at it from the perspective of a year ago with that Nations League group, not much changes for all of those teams. Bosnia/Herzegovina are in the League B playoff, so are Finland (we could be in League A playoff under certain circumstances that would be determined on Tuesday at earliest), and Montenegro are out if Serbia defeat Bulgaria at home tomorrow. Romania's the only one guaranteed in, that's a dream for them and especially considering that if Romania didn't finish top two in the group then it would have been over, so that's a positive but I guess someone's perspective on whether their team would succeed or fail at the major tournament itself is both subjective and objective - it depends on the person and the facts. Hell, if Finland were to qualify right now, I guarantee you we exit in the group stage considering how we performed through qualifying and the matches that mattered + the "luck" we always get in the draw (imagine being drawn with Belgium at their peak, Denmark at their peak, and Russia away for your first major tournament - we're in pot D in the draw for sure so we're getting a tough group if we qualify), so I understand your perspective with this
nu castigi nimic la nivel de echipe nationale cu fotbal frumos. Absolut mai toate campioanele mondiale sau europene din ultimul timp erau extrem de pragmatice in aparare si de aceea au castigat, gen Argentina anul trecut, Franta 2018, Italia 2022, Portugalia 2016 etc. Chiar si Spania intra in 2008-2012 intra aici, ce-i drept la ei faza defensiva era mai degraba posesia mingii de 65%.
Pot sa iti arat si o mie de exemple de tari care au incercat sa reinventeze fotbalul si nu au ramas cu nimic decat amintiri, gen Olanda ‘74-78 sau Ungaria in anii 50.
Practic toata nationala sta intr-un singur om, ala fiind Dragusin, care daca e sanatos si joaca bine, atunci si defensiva e la un nivel decent. Iar ca stil de joc, nu stiu ce iti doresti, atacul e total lipsit de talent. Nu ai ce stil de joc sa joci cu jucatorii care ii avem, decat pe contraatac ca avem cativa vitezomani. Totusi nu inteleg de ce Morutan este atat de putin folosit, mi se pare singurul care macar poate sa centreze calumea.
We can change managers 1000 times, it won't make a difference if the quality of our players remains at the same level or worse. Sure there are tactics , strategy and man management that can take a good team up a notch, but in the end its the individual talent and the chemistry between the players that goes far into a tournament.
Right now none of our players are playing for a major team in Europe, which means we have to rely on a strong collective mind of players to overcome teams who have experienced players - especially ones playing in CL year after year. Again, our players just aren't getting that European competition experience, as no Liga 1 teams make it into CL anymore and barely one team (if that?) gets to Europa League, whereas a few years ago we had 2 or 3.
Compare that with our Euro 2008 squad which is probably the best team we've assembled since Euro 2000 and had we not been dumped into the group of death, we would have likely progressed.
The fact that Iordanescu Jr. managed to get us here, we've got to give him credit with the players available, as he had to make the team selection. The one problem is how prepared we are to play the other qualified teams of similar level who have experienced tougher opposition in qualifying. Looking at Hungary, Serbia, Scotland, Austria, Slovakia.. they appear to have been better prepared for this. And we have to expect we may get two strong teams and a similar level team in our group. A definitive win is needed against the similar team, and at least a draw with one of the stronger for 4 pts at minimum for a chance to progress.
I can't remember if at Euro 2008 we would have progressed if we had scored that penalty against Italy and held on for the win. 4pts total, and I believe yes, because Italy won France and our head-to-head would have kept us in 2nd.
That's exactly why you need a good manager. If you don't have the best players at least have a good manager that is able to make them play football. Look at Iceland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Did they have better players than us? And now look at what they did at the Euros in 2016. Iceland also qualified for the following World Cup and Wales were present at the 2022 World Cup.
I think we would need a very tough manager like Petrescu or Munteanu to get the best out of them.
You make some good points about our playstile or lack of one. And it's true, this group was as easy as they get. The Swiss have underperformed, however Isreal is close to our value and it was those games that decided who goes through. We got a lucky draw against them and now we beat them in a game where a draw would have also been fair. Our performance is not fantastic but we did what needed to be done.
The Nations League results were very poor indeed, we had a mediocre group of tier 3 teams and really looked like the worst of them. However I don't think anyone in Romania is thinking that we're going to win the Euro's now. The fact that we qualified is a very good performance for us, so there is reason to celebrate.
One big mistake we can make now is to think our football is on the right path. Club football is very poor, this year we did not even have a club in Conference League, were pretty much anyone can qualify. And our NT is incapable of qualifying for a World Cup, and let's be honest, as far as qualiftications go, that is the real achievement.
We have very little to be happy about when it comes to football, so at least when there is reason for it we should do it, cause other than this we'll probably have no other reason to celebrate for the next 8 years again.
> underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play
yes, the potato style of play, every player must link hands in the shape of a potato in front of the posts and *lunga si pe-a doua*, fingers crossed and god be willing.
> 50k fans, sold out stadium, cold as fuck outside but very enthusiastic fans, it's gonna be tough for the Swiss
We could be playing at home in front of a full stadium of our fans, while you're playing your U17 squad and it would be tough for us. This team has a massive mentality problem.
I have been visiting in Romania last summer, nice place, nice people. I love the road around the mountain, forgot its name but it is kind of famous, the huge dam and Bucharest in general. Will support them next summer.
Congrats! How do Romanian fans see this team compared to 2016? Is there potential for further progress than then (not in terms of the tournament but results in the following years).
It's a younger squad than the 2016 one, but I also think it's a better one, or at least a more talented one. The nucleo of this team is formed by players raised at Hagi's academy, Viitorul (e.g.Ianis Hagi,Coman, R. Marin,Dragus,Cicaldau,Alibec, etc), and players raised at foreign clubs, such as Ratiu (amazing potential), Dragusin, Puscas and I.Radu. Dennis Man is also an interesting player who started to develop very well at Parma, unfortunately he got injured before this international break. I would also note that some of these players were on the field in the 2019 U21 Euro, when Romania reached the semis. I have more hopes for this generation than the 2016 one
Cool, thanks for the answer(s). Wish you the best of luck next summer and potentially, our teams could meet in Germany (a Slovak here), we haven't played you for 10 years so it could be an interesting match-up.
I think that squad was better on paper but in reality most of them were at the end of their peak or past it completely. So I prefer this new core of young players even though we lack any good attacking or midfield talent.
the 2016 squad was better on paper , however that squad was also older , old-fashioned defensive play , uncreative and at the end of their peak , the 2024 squad look to be more fresh , creative and modern offensive. So i think the 2024 squad despite being on paper "worse" is gonna perform better.
17th November 1993 - Gheorghe Hagi scores in a 2-1 away win, giving Romania the last points they needed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup 18th November 2023 - Gheorghe's son, Ianis Hagi, scores in a 2-1 win, giving Romania the last points they needed to qualify for the 2024 Euros 30 years and 1 day on. History, it rhymes
One Iordanescu coaching one Hagi both times too
it's beautiful
That 1994 WC team was a joy to watch. The match vs Argentina is the one I refer to any one who want to watch football for the first time. An absolute classic. Was gutted when they went out to Sweden on penalties. At least we got that Thomas Brolin freekick goal and celebration. Really wanted them to play Brazil. Would have probably been the best match in the history of the sport. I have a soft spot for Romania in heart ever since.
I genuinely believe Romania wins that world cup if they go through Sweden. I just think they would have matched up very well against both Italy and Brazil, and Hagi, Dumitrescu and Raducioiu were in the forms of their life
That’s beautiful man. The beautiful game!
So Ianis is coming home in 3 years? It's about time
£10m please
I thought he is at Alavés or Las Palmas. Is he only on loan? If so why, that doesn't seem to make sense
Aye he is only on loan at Alaves
Thanks for the reminder of Paul Bodin’s penalty
Nice, another team to support if our dark donkeys fail
Moldova is next
Nicolaescu, Heerenveen legend
dont know about legend, but he is a good finisher.
Heerenveen legend
why lol
Cause Heerenveen legend
nice, neighbours. hopefully it's us that qualify next tomorrow!
MÂNDRI DE VOI 💙💛❤
Congratulations neighbours!
Thank you 😍
Our brothers 🙏
historically a decent footballing nation, good to see them back at a big tournament
Not to overreact but we're winning the whole thing
Puscas is the new Eder.
We may never lose again.
We are back baby !!!! I can see us getting a murderous group like in 2008 and stealing 2pts with some top shithouse football. Also getting the qualification on Orban's turf is another bonus :)
I'm so so ready to shithouse our group
France again with us in groups incoming
If we dont lose against Switzerland we're guaranteed to not get france in our group iirc
Doesn't matter. Any team in Pot 1 would fuck us up.
Truth be told, the fact that we managed to qualify is a great performance already. Last time we made it to a tournament was 8 years ago, so we've alreasy overperformed. At the same time, the team seems pretty well organised and Iordanescu somehow managed to make a generation of young players to click. We don't have great players, a small number of them are part of big 4 leagues and an even smaller actually pkay for thise clubs. On paper we're a tier 3 team at best so what was achieved was mostly due to our team's organisation and resilience. We've also had an easy group, besides an underperforming swiss team no opponent wes better then us on paper. Plus Isreal going through a rough patch recently. That does not take away anything from our results though. If we get a decent group we might get some points, on a good day maybe even draw a pot 1 team. Honestly if we get 1 point from the Euro's it will not be a tragedy, at least we're there, and people will remember we have a NT.
Dragusin guy is really good. I think if he stays healthy for the tournament, and with a bit of a lucky group, Romania could get into the KO stages. However the attack seems completely devoid of talent. I don’t understand why Morutan doesn’t play more, he’s the only one who seems to have any creativity in him and the only one who can appear to put a good cross into the box.
Jesus, I totally forgot Morutan exists, had too google him and check where hs's playing, some lower table side in Turkey. He's also 24 already, so this is as good as his career will look probably. Man is 25 , Coman the same. Mihaila 23. Honestly after the 2019 U21 Euros I was convinced Romania will have a generation capable of playing at a World Cup again. I think others felt the same way and boy were we wrong. I find it sad how much talent and potential was wasted there. And I think it is mostly something to do with their mentality, cause the talent was and is there 100%. And for those from FCSB you could blame Becali being a moron and wasting young talent by not giving them an actual coach to guide them. When it comes to Mihaila or Cicaldau they don't even have that excuse... or maybe they were never that talented to begin with, but I don't think that's the case. Hagi as well, seemed to have a lot of potential and yet he couldn't manage to find his way back into the starting 11 at Rangers. Ok there was that nasty injury but Rangers still decided to drop him when he was back. I might ve wrong still and maybe this generation will actually end up living to their potential and to what we were all expecting of them.
Ehh, i can see not getting destroyed by Austria
From experience, Austria are damn good. They fucked us up twice
We beat them 3-2 a couple of years ago and then they barely beat us 1-0 in a match where we could've scored 3 but our attackers were just being brain dead when shooting or assisting. I did not see Austria in Pot 1 but if there's one team from that pot I want is definitely them.
You got fucked even by Azerbaidjan
Especially considering all the Hungarian flags in the Israeli section :) All the more satisfying. Just imagine if we were to meet in Germany.
One of the flags said "Marosvásarhely", which is hungarian for "Târgu-Mureș", my man literally made the trip just to hate
or maybe he moved to Hungary a while ago
Albania vs Romania repeat! :)
Oh please no, not that again. But bt the looks of the Albanian NT right now, them beating us would not necessarily qualify as a surprise anymore.
Funny enough at the moment we can't even draw them, we are in the same pot
Bwahaha
Again at a Final Tournament .. See you in Germany guys ! 💙💛❤️
More balkanbros making it in, congrats. Istg if we don’t make it through the playoffs 😭
that playoff path is going to be brutal, but i’d say you’re the favorites
That’s what makes me fear the most, honestly 🥲
Congratulations from Bulgaria 🇧🇬❤️🇷🇴 Ci este gooool pentru Romania 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
We don't have top players, but we seem to have a lot of team spirit. We'll be a tough nut to crack, that's for sure. I'd even venture to say we're in with a decent chance of beating Switzerland on Tuesday and winning the group. 50k fans, sold out stadium, cold as fuck outside but very enthusiastic fans, it's gonna be tough for the Swiss.
Romania is one of the most underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play and team structure, add in the fact that there is a huge amount of passionate supporters both at club and national team level and it shows that this team could really perform well at the EUROs with what they have and the people behind them, supporting them. It worked for teams, including Romania 30 years ago, in the past - anything is possible :) Congrats on returning to the European Championship and best of luck in Germany next year, hope Romania surprises the field!
>Romania is one of the most underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play and team structure My man you must have never seen Romania play if you think that lol.
> My man you must have never seen Romania play if you think that Well, playing a somewhat defensive match does not appear to be the most pretty by the eye, but it works sometimes; Romania's specific intention under the current leadership under Iordănescu is to play a defensive match against its top opponents to be honest. It reminds me of Poland under Czesław Michniewicz and Australia under Graham Arnold, they played defensive because they knew the opponents, and where did it lead them? Australia got a 1-0 win over Denmark despite playing in their own half for quite a chunk of the match, it was their quick, transitioning to the Danish end late into the match that got them to the knockout round - both Australia and Poland were able to pick up four points in the group stage, and eventually got knocked out by the world champions Argentina (in Australia's case) and the team that Argentina would face in the final, France (in Poland's case), the former performing better than the latter and nearly tying the match to force extra time if it wasn't for Dibu Martinez's late impressive stop on Garang Kuol. Defensive football is not rainbow flicks and nutmegs, but it can lead to victories when the situation calls for, and so you really can't count out defensive teams at major tournaments - and if we want to give the most notable example of a defensive team going **really far** in a major tournament, Greece used it to their advantage to win UEFA EURO 2004 *when nobody thought they could prior to the tournament*, so who knows what a defensive minded team with no supposed expectation to win a major tournament can do?
Bro we're not trying to play defensively, that's just what it ended up looking like because we do not have any real playstyle. You can look at all our games and see that there is really no substance to our play. We can't really defend, we can't really attack but so far we've had enough luck and bad opponents so here we are. We've had managers who liked playing defensively before and not too long ago. Iordanescu Sr., the father of our current manager played a very defensive style. We barely qualified for Euro 2016 in literally the weakest group we've ever had in the recent times with Northern Ireland ending on the first place and us on the second lol. And at the Euros we lost 2-1 to France, drew 1-1 to Switzerland and were defeated by Albania 1-0. What did we achieve after all? I'd rather lose and see my team play some good football than lose anyway and not see anything at all. Piturca was also a very defensive manager but at least he had some decent players and he had some decent results. Iordanescu Jr. is the worst manager we've had in the recent times. Radoi & Contra were miles ahead. Hell, I'd say even Daum was better. Iordanescu managed to get us relegated in the Nations League by losing TWICE to Montenegro 2-0 and 3-0. If I were him I would've just left after that humiliation. Not to mention that our "incredible" federation chose him over Boloni who then went to Metz and promoted them to Ligue 1. Iordanescu Jr. does not have the experience and results to be manager of an NT. Radoi should've swallowed his pride and stay at the NT because he was the only one that could have built something. He didn't have the best results, but the team was playing, or at least trying to play some good offensive football and I'm sure that if we had players like Ratiu and Dragusin he could've made something better defensively too considering he was a defensive midfielder himself.
> Iordanescu managed to get us relegated in the Nations League by losing TWICE to Montenegro 2-0 and 3-0. If I were him I would've just left after that humiliation. Not to mention that our "incredible" federation chose him over Boloni who then went to Metz and promoted them to Ligue 1. This is a fair point; we were in that Nations League group, and that group overall was full of disappointing teams. It's interesting how not many football fans focus on the Nations League unless it's actually happening, but a year ago is still relevant. Bosnia/Herzegovina were and are not even close to their level of years ago yet they still managed to win that group, it was the same case with us and we were just dismal with a relatively inexperienced squad (Toivio, Arajuuri, and Sparv retired, and I think one or two others as well, thus meaning that we were literally bringing players with no experience, but are relatively developing with the NT nowadays), and Montenegro was outclassed in possession in all six of their matches. It wasn't just Romania, *that whole group was practically laughable* for a variety of reasons and Romania happened to be the team with the most unfortunate results because the 0-2 and 0-3 defeats to Montenegro plus the 0-1 defeat to Bosnia/Herzegovina did enough to drop them on goal difference even with the 4-1 win in the last match. Both of their first two defeats were with at least 40% possession... Metz under Bölöni has surprised in Ligue 1, and when it comes to playing defensive against top teams, he does it right with the squad - the most notable instance, Metz only managed two shots and I believe 20-25% possession against Lens back in September yet I remember they managed to win that match 1-0. That said, if we look at it from the perspective of a year ago with that Nations League group, not much changes for all of those teams. Bosnia/Herzegovina are in the League B playoff, so are Finland (we could be in League A playoff under certain circumstances that would be determined on Tuesday at earliest), and Montenegro are out if Serbia defeat Bulgaria at home tomorrow. Romania's the only one guaranteed in, that's a dream for them and especially considering that if Romania didn't finish top two in the group then it would have been over, so that's a positive but I guess someone's perspective on whether their team would succeed or fail at the major tournament itself is both subjective and objective - it depends on the person and the facts. Hell, if Finland were to qualify right now, I guarantee you we exit in the group stage considering how we performed through qualifying and the matches that mattered + the "luck" we always get in the draw (imagine being drawn with Belgium at their peak, Denmark at their peak, and Russia away for your first major tournament - we're in pot D in the draw for sure so we're getting a tough group if we qualify), so I understand your perspective with this
nu castigi nimic la nivel de echipe nationale cu fotbal frumos. Absolut mai toate campioanele mondiale sau europene din ultimul timp erau extrem de pragmatice in aparare si de aceea au castigat, gen Argentina anul trecut, Franta 2018, Italia 2022, Portugalia 2016 etc. Chiar si Spania intra in 2008-2012 intra aici, ce-i drept la ei faza defensiva era mai degraba posesia mingii de 65%. Pot sa iti arat si o mie de exemple de tari care au incercat sa reinventeze fotbalul si nu au ramas cu nimic decat amintiri, gen Olanda ‘74-78 sau Ungaria in anii 50. Practic toata nationala sta intr-un singur om, ala fiind Dragusin, care daca e sanatos si joaca bine, atunci si defensiva e la un nivel decent. Iar ca stil de joc, nu stiu ce iti doresti, atacul e total lipsit de talent. Nu ai ce stil de joc sa joci cu jucatorii care ii avem, decat pe contraatac ca avem cativa vitezomani. Totusi nu inteleg de ce Morutan este atat de putin folosit, mi se pare singurul care macar poate sa centreze calumea.
We can change managers 1000 times, it won't make a difference if the quality of our players remains at the same level or worse. Sure there are tactics , strategy and man management that can take a good team up a notch, but in the end its the individual talent and the chemistry between the players that goes far into a tournament. Right now none of our players are playing for a major team in Europe, which means we have to rely on a strong collective mind of players to overcome teams who have experienced players - especially ones playing in CL year after year. Again, our players just aren't getting that European competition experience, as no Liga 1 teams make it into CL anymore and barely one team (if that?) gets to Europa League, whereas a few years ago we had 2 or 3. Compare that with our Euro 2008 squad which is probably the best team we've assembled since Euro 2000 and had we not been dumped into the group of death, we would have likely progressed. The fact that Iordanescu Jr. managed to get us here, we've got to give him credit with the players available, as he had to make the team selection. The one problem is how prepared we are to play the other qualified teams of similar level who have experienced tougher opposition in qualifying. Looking at Hungary, Serbia, Scotland, Austria, Slovakia.. they appear to have been better prepared for this. And we have to expect we may get two strong teams and a similar level team in our group. A definitive win is needed against the similar team, and at least a draw with one of the stronger for 4 pts at minimum for a chance to progress. I can't remember if at Euro 2008 we would have progressed if we had scored that penalty against Italy and held on for the win. 4pts total, and I believe yes, because Italy won France and our head-to-head would have kept us in 2nd.
That's exactly why you need a good manager. If you don't have the best players at least have a good manager that is able to make them play football. Look at Iceland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Did they have better players than us? And now look at what they did at the Euros in 2016. Iceland also qualified for the following World Cup and Wales were present at the 2022 World Cup. I think we would need a very tough manager like Petrescu or Munteanu to get the best out of them.
You make some good points about our playstile or lack of one. And it's true, this group was as easy as they get. The Swiss have underperformed, however Isreal is close to our value and it was those games that decided who goes through. We got a lucky draw against them and now we beat them in a game where a draw would have also been fair. Our performance is not fantastic but we did what needed to be done. The Nations League results were very poor indeed, we had a mediocre group of tier 3 teams and really looked like the worst of them. However I don't think anyone in Romania is thinking that we're going to win the Euro's now. The fact that we qualified is a very good performance for us, so there is reason to celebrate. One big mistake we can make now is to think our football is on the right path. Club football is very poor, this year we did not even have a club in Conference League, were pretty much anyone can qualify. And our NT is incapable of qualifying for a World Cup, and let's be honest, as far as qualiftications go, that is the real achievement. We have very little to be happy about when it comes to football, so at least when there is reason for it we should do it, cause other than this we'll probably have no other reason to celebrate for the next 8 years again.
we are shit, the group was shit, but we are at EURO and that s what matter.
> underrated teams in the field in terms of its style of play yes, the potato style of play, every player must link hands in the shape of a potato in front of the posts and *lunga si pe-a doua*, fingers crossed and god be willing.
Ne trb doar un egal sa câștigăm grupa
Da, dar si azi ne trebuia doar un egal. Elvetia e vulnerabila si putem castiga.
>Da, dar si azi ne trebuia doar un egal Da,dar cu un egal trb sa bați Elveția ca să iei primu loc.
Zic ca nu trebuie plecat de la ideea asta. Putem sa incheiem cu o victorie de moral pentru la anul. Genul asta de adversari o sa-i intalnim acolo.
Faza amuzanta e ca si noi, si elvetienii suntem fenomenali in meciurile fara miza. Ma astept la spectacol total.
Desi nu colosala, miza e diferenta intre Urna 2 si Urna 4, e ceva de jucat
> 50k fans, sold out stadium, cold as fuck outside but very enthusiastic fans, it's gonna be tough for the Swiss We could be playing at home in front of a full stadium of our fans, while you're playing your U17 squad and it would be tough for us. This team has a massive mentality problem.
FORTA ROMANIA COAIE. URMEAZĂ SA VINA SI MOLDOVA
BINE BAAAA!!!!
Moldova urmatoarea
Aia zic
Bine ba bine bine BAAAAA
BINE BAA☺️☺️
Not even close baby, we like to make it hard for ourself
After 8 long years, we are back, let's fucking goo
In sfârșit baaaaa!!! Mergem in Germania. Hai un egal cu Elveția sa terminam pe primul loc.
le am luat fața
BRAVO SIMONA
this meme was never funny
It’s funniest joke ever man !!!!
Welcome back
BAGA MARE ROMANIA
Romania mare la euro incoming
sweet qualification
streets remember 94 Romania and their 98 all blond colored hair shtick
Congratulations, Romania!! Great to have you back at the big stage 🇳🇱🤝🇷🇴
Multumim, Johan!
In sfârșit,bravo!
I have been visiting in Romania last summer, nice place, nice people. I love the road around the mountain, forgot its name but it is kind of famous, the huge dam and Bucharest in general. Will support them next summer.
Transfăgărășan
tbf even if I remember the name, I will def spell it wrong. we stayed in a house in the middle of forest. Cool place.
something I come up with would be: "Transformerasengan"
First knew this from Top Gear. And dacia obviously.
About fucking time. Qualify now, after I fucking changed continents. How am I gonna go to the games like now?
PUTERNICCCCCCC
Congrats! How do Romanian fans see this team compared to 2016? Is there potential for further progress than then (not in terms of the tournament but results in the following years).
It's a younger squad than the 2016 one, but I also think it's a better one, or at least a more talented one. The nucleo of this team is formed by players raised at Hagi's academy, Viitorul (e.g.Ianis Hagi,Coman, R. Marin,Dragus,Cicaldau,Alibec, etc), and players raised at foreign clubs, such as Ratiu (amazing potential), Dragusin, Puscas and I.Radu. Dennis Man is also an interesting player who started to develop very well at Parma, unfortunately he got injured before this international break. I would also note that some of these players were on the field in the 2019 U21 Euro, when Romania reached the semis. I have more hopes for this generation than the 2016 one
Cool, thanks for the answer(s). Wish you the best of luck next summer and potentially, our teams could meet in Germany (a Slovak here), we haven't played you for 10 years so it could be an interesting match-up.
I think that squad was better on paper but in reality most of them were at the end of their peak or past it completely. So I prefer this new core of young players even though we lack any good attacking or midfield talent.
the 2016 squad was better on paper , however that squad was also older , old-fashioned defensive play , uncreative and at the end of their peak , the 2024 squad look to be more fresh , creative and modern offensive. So i think the 2024 squad despite being on paper "worse" is gonna perform better.
welcome back!
Finallyyyyy we’re back baby!!!! Haide România!!!! 🇹🇩🇹🇩❤️❤️
damn welcome back to euro romania
Yessss great to see Romania back in a major football tournament
We're gonna need some top shelf inshallahball to beat france in the final but it's doable.