Early years at the
1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay The Romanian Football Federation (
Federația Română de Fotbal) was established in October 1909 in
Bucharest. Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2–1 win over
Yugoslavia in
Belgrade, being 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,
Belgium and
France.
World Cups in the 1930s At the
1930 World Cup, Romania won their first match against
Peru, 3–1, with goals from
Adalbert Deșu,
Constantin Stanciu, and
Nicolae Kovács and
Samuel Zauber as goalkeeper, before losing 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
Ștefan 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, the
United States. The first match at the
Stade du T.O.E.C. in
Toulouse ended 3–3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2–1.
1970 World Cup Despite a 3–0 loss to
Portugal in
Lisbon and two draws against
Greece, Romania was able to qualify for the
1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Angelo Niculescu's promising side were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with
1966 winners
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 in what was a very physical game. Chances were improved with a 2–1 win over the Czechs. After 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 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; 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, 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.
1972 to 1978 drawing goalless at
De Kuip, 1974 On 26 September 1972, under new coach
Valentin Stanescu, 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 beaten by Spain for a place in the
1978 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.
1984 European Championship Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign between 1970 and 1990 was for the
European Championships in 1984 in France. At the finals, Romania were drawn with Spain, holders
West Germany and 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 Coraș 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 in
1990. A win over Denmark in their last match took
Emerich Jenei's side to the finals for the first time in 20 years.
1990 World Cup With an increasing trend for big clubs in
Italy and
Spain buying up the best foreign talent, Romania's squad was entirely domestic-based. Midfielder
Ilie Dumitrescu,
striker Florin Răducioiu and genius playmaker
Gheorghe Hagi, were in the squad. After world champions Argentina were stunned by
Cameroon in the tournament's opening match, Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the
Soviet Union at the
San Nicola in
Bari, with
Marius Lăcătuș scoring in each half. The result was all the more impressive given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus' second was a penalty given for a handball by
Vagiz Khidiatullin that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area. Romania lost to Cameroon next; cult hero
Roger Milla, aged 38, came on as a substitute for
Emmanuel Maboang Kessack and scored twice before
Gavril 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 the second round. Against
Jack Charlton's
Republic of Ireland side in
Genoa, Romania did not 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.
1994 World Cup stamp issued by
Poșta Română Romania missed out on
Euro 1992.
Scotland qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in
Sofia against
Bulgaria, with
Nasko Sirakov's equalizer sealing their fate. Romania was successful, however, in
reaching another World Cup in the
United States in 1994. After 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, Florin Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were eliminated. At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages, with Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu and Ilie Dumitrescu on form. Romania beat
Colombia 3–1 at the
Pasadena Rose Bowl in
Los Angeles (all but one of Romania's games took place in
California, 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.
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. In
Detroit's indoor
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 4–1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1–0 in Pasadena with an early
Dan Petrescu goal. In the Round of 16 knockout stage they faced Argentina, minus
Diego Maradona who had been thrown out of the tournament for a positive drug test, in Los Angeles. The suspended Răducioiu 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 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 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 in
San Francisco. With just 13 minutes to play, a tight match opened up as Sweden's
Tomas 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, Dan Petrescu and
Miodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved by
Thomas Ravelli and Sweden went through.
Euro 1996 At
Euro 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 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. An early goal from Bulgaria striker
Hristo Stoichkov at St James' Park put Romania on the back foot in Euro 1996, but
Dorinel 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. Referee
Peter 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.
1998 World Cup Despite a poor performance at Euro 1996, Romania impressed in
qualifying, finishing ten points clear of the Republic of Ireland and were
seeded for the final tournament of the
1998 World Cup.
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 teammate
Graeme le Saux and
nutmegging goalkeeper
David Seaman. The next match was against a Tunisia side eliminated after losing to both England and Colombia. With England–Colombia being the more decisive game, the
Stade de France in Paris was an 80,000-strong sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock as
Skander 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 at
Bordeaux against Croatia,
Davor Šuker scored a twice-taken penalty to eliminate Romania.
Euro 2000 Romania had a strong qualifying campaign, winning a tough
Group 7 with Portugal,
Slovakia,
Hungary,
Azerbaijan and
Liechtenstein. The Romanians impressed, never losing and winning seven times, including a big upset in
Porto after defeating Portugal thanks to a late goal scored by Dorinel Munteanu. In Bucharest, the score finished 1–1. At
Euro 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 in
Liège, with Viorel 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 must-win match for Romania. 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 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 from
Nigel 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 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. In the 35th minute, Gheorghe Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeper
Francesco 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.
2000s – World Cup dry spell 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 fan 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.
Euro 2004 Romania were confident of qualifying for the tournament, drawn in Group 2 with seeds Denmark,
Norway,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and minnows
Luxembourg, with Anghel Iordănescu back as coach. 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 50 yards out, after leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and earning 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.
2006 World Cup Romania were drawn with the
Netherlands and the
Czech Republic, who were ranked first and second in Europe respectively in
2006 World Cup qualification. Early wins over Finland and
Macedonia 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.
Euro 2008 Romania were drawn in a group with the Netherlands again, along with Bulgaria for
Euro 2008 qualifying. Romania, however, performed well, losing only away against Bulgaria and beating the Netherlands 1–0 at home with a goal scored by
Dorin Goian from a suspicious
offside position not seen by referee
Kyros Vassaras. On 17 October 2007, Romania became the fourth team to qualify for
Euro 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's
Christian 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 goalkeeper
Gianluigi 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.
2010 World Cup , opened in 2011, the national stadium of Romania, as seen on a Romanian stamp (2011) Romania were drawn into the UEFA qualifying round for the
2010 World Cup alongside France,
Serbia,
Austria,
Lithuania and the
Faroe 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 by
Răzvan Lucescu.
Euro 2012 In
Euro 2012 qualifying, Romania was drawn into
Group 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.
2014 World Cup Romania were drawn into the
2014 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.
UEFA Euro 2016 's 2–1 win over Romania at the
Stade de France opened the
UEFA Euro 2016. For the qualifying stage of the
Euro 2016 Romania was drawn into
Group 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 in
Budapest, 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 to
Euro 2016, where they were drawn in
Group A, being named to play the opening match against the hosts
France. The match began better for the Romanian side, who almost scored the first goal of the tournament in the fourth minute, after
Bogdan Stancu tricked the French defence at a corner kick executed by his co-national
Nicușor Stanciu and his shot was narrowly saved by the French goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris. Shortly after the half-time, France dominated, and scored the first goal of the tournament after a header by
Olivier Giroud in the 57th minute. Less than eight minutes later, Nicușor Stanciu was fouled by
Patrice Evra in the French box, and Hungarian referee
Viktor 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 faced
Switzerland, 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 against
Albania 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, but
Armando Sadiku's header in the 43rd minute went past
Ciprian Tătărușanu, giving Albania the lead and their first ever goal in a tournament. The despondent Romanian side failed to score in this match, with
Florin 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 manager
Anghel Iordănescu to resign before the matches for the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers began three months later.
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification It was German manager
Christoph 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 face
Denmark,
Poland,
Montenegro,
Armenia and
Kazakhstan. The campaign began with a mediocre 1–1 draw against Montenegro in
Cluj-Napoca, followed by a thrashing 5–0 victory in
Yerevan against Armenia before another mediocre draw in
Astana against Kazakhstan, a 0–3 defeat in Bucharest and a 1–3 defeat in
Warsaw 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, in
Podgorica, but failed amid a
Stevan Jovetić winner and were mathematically eliminated, leading to the sacking of Daum and his replacement with
Cosmin Contra. This defeat was followed by a 3–1 victory against Kazakhstan in
Ploiești before a lucky 1–1 draw against Denmark in
Copenhagen. Romania ended fourth in the group, with 13 points, twelve goals scored and ten conceded.
2018–19 UEFA Nations League The poor performance in the qualifiers meant Romania would be in the League C of UEFA's first season of the new competition, the
Nations League. They were drawn against neighbours
Serbia, Montenegro again and
Baltic side
Lithuania. 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 in
Vilnius against Lithuania. This was followed by another 0–0 draw in Bucharest against Serbia, in which
Dušan 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 in
Belgrade. 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 in
League B for the next edition.
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification at
Friends Arena, March 2019 For the qualifiers of Euro 2020, Romania was drawn in a group including
Spain,
Sweden, and
Norway alongside
Malta and
the Faroe Islands. In the opening game, Romania suffered a 1–2 defeat to Sweden in
Stockholm, followed by a comfortable 4–1 victory over the Faroe Islands in Cluj-Napoca and a 2–2 draw with Norway in
Oslo, with
Claudiu 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 from
George Pușcaș and
Dragoș Grigore, and a poor 1–0 victory against Malta. This meant Romania had to win against Norway in October, but after a goal from
Alexandru 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 in
Reykjavík and eliminating them. Their performance cost Cosmin Contra his coaching position, as he was changed with
Mirel Rădoi before the play-offs.
2020–21 UEFA Nations League 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 in
Klagenfurt 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, following
Omar Elabdellaoui's positive test for
COVID-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.
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Following an acceptable Nations League campaign, Romania was drawn from Pot 2 in the
2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, in a group with
Germany, Euro 2016 revelation
Iceland who eliminated them from
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs two months prior, future revelation
North Macedonia, Armenia again and
Liechtenstein. In their first match, Romania managed a hard victory over North Macedonia in Bucharest after two quick Macedonian goals and a late winner from
Ianis Hagi. Three days later, Germany managed a victory over them on the same stadium despite a huge opportunity from
Nicolae Stanciu in the last minutes. This was followed by a shameful 2–3 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan. 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 in
Reykjavík, followed by a mediocre 2–0 victory over Liechtenstein and a 0–0 draw in
Skopje 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.
2022–23 UEFA Nations League Romania was drawn from Pot 3 in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League season, in a group against
Bosnia 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 in
Zenica 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 in
Helsinki 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 to
League C for the next Nations League edition.
UEFA Euro 2024 The Nations League performance meant Romania would be drawn from Pot 3 in Euro 2024 qualifiers, which led them to a
group with
Switzerland,
Israel,
Kosovo,
Belarus and
Andorra. Two initial victories against Andorra and Belarus in Bucharest, followed by a lacklustre 0–0 against Kosovo in
Pristina gave the impression of another despondent campaign before a shocking comeback against Switzerland in
Lucerne,
Valentin Mihăilă scoring a brace in the last three minutes. This was then followed by a 1–1 draw against Israel in Bucharest before a
controversial match against Kosovo; the match was interrupted for almost an hour after Romanian fans began chastising Kosovar players and chanting
anti-NATO chants, with the Kosovars leaving the pitch in protest. Two late goals for Romania after the match restarted, a draw against Belarus on
neutral pitch because of their
involvement with the
Russian 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 before
George 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. At the final tournament, Romania was drawn against
Belgium,
Slovakia and neighbours
Ukraine in
Group E. In the first matchday, Romania met Ukraine in
Munich, and achieved their best result in the
European Championship final tournament: a Nicolae Stanciu screamer that came in as the fourth most beautiful goal of the tournament, a long shot from
Răzvan Marin and a tap-in from
Denis 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 against
England in
2000 in a 3–2 with a last minute winner. Following this performance, in the second matchday, Romania was stunned by
Youri 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 faced
the Netherlands. Despite a good start,
Cody Gakpo stunned the Tricolours in the 20th minute, before
Donyell 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 to
League B for the
2026-2027 edition of the Nations League thanks to a perfect record of 6 wins in as many matches against their 3 opponents,
Kosovo,
Cyprus and
Lithuania, 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 the
2026 World Cup qualifiers against
Bosnia (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. ==Team image==