Moldova national football team

Moldova
Association Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal (FMF)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Alexandru Curtianu
Asst coach Ion Testemițanu
Captain Alexandru Epureanu
Most caps Radu Rebeja (74)
Top scorer Serghei Cleșcenco (11)
Home stadium Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău
FIFA code MDA
FIFA ranking 121 Increase 1 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 37 (April 2008)
Lowest FIFA ranking 149 (May 1994)
Elo ranking 114 (31 March 2015)
Highest Elo ranking 86 (February 2008)
Lowest Elo ranking 130 (October/November 2002)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Moldova 2–4 Georgia 
(Chişinău, Moldova; July 2, 1991)
Biggest win
 Moldova 5–0 Pakistan 
(Amman, Jordan; August 18, 1992)
Biggest defeat
 Sweden 6–0 Moldova 
(Gothenburg, Sweden; June 6, 2001)

The Moldova national football team (Romanian: Echipa națională de fotbal a Moldovei) represents Moldova in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Moldova, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău and their head coach is Ion Caras. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on July 2, 1991.

Two of their three best results in the 1990s years, came during the qualifiers for the Euro 96, with wins over Georgia (1–0) in Tbilisi and Wales (3–2) in Chișinău. In 2007 Moldova obtained a very good result, beating Hungary 3−0 in Chișinău in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Their best recent result was a 5-2 win over Montenegro during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The team has never qualified for the final stages of the European Championship or the FIFA World Cup.

Following Moldova's 4–0 defeat to England in September 1997, the British writer and comedian Tony Hawks travelled to Moldova to challenge and beat all 11 Moldovan international footballers at tennis. The feature film version of the book of the same name, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, was filmed in and around Chișinău in May and June 2010 and was released in the spring of 2012.

Although it is part of the former Soviet Union, Moldova is considered one of Europe's weakest teams.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup Record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1930–1938 Part of  Romania
1950–1990 Part of  Soviet Union
United States 1994 Did Not Enter
France 1998 Did Not Qualify
Japan South Korea 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018 To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total 0/20

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1960–1992 Part of  Soviet Union
England 1996 Did Not Qualify
Belgium Netherlands 2000
Portugal 2004
Austria Switzerland 2008
Poland Ukraine 2012
France 2016 To Be Determined
Total 0/14

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 England 10 6 4 0 31 4 +2722
 Ukraine 10 6 3 1 28 4 +2421
 Montenegro 10 4 3 3 18 17 +115
 Poland 10 3 4 3 18 12 +613
 Moldova 10 3 2 5 12 17 −511
 San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 54 −530
  England Moldova Montenegro Poland San Marino Ukraine
England  — 4–0 4–1 2–0 5–0 1–1
Moldova  0–5 — 0–1 1–1 3–0 0–0
Montenegro  1–1 2–5 — 2–2 3–0 0–4
Poland  1–1 2–0 1–1 — 5–0 1–3
San Marino  0–8 0–2 0–6 1–5 — 0–8
Ukraine  0–0 2–1 0–1 1–0 9–0 —

UEFA Euro 2016 qualification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Austria Sweden Russia Montenegro Liechtenstein Moldova
1  Austria 5 4 1 0 10 2 +8 13 Advance to final tournament — 1–1 1–0 1–0 12 Oct 5 Sep
2  Sweden 5 2 3 0 7 3 +4 9 8 Sep — 1–1 14 Jun 2–0 12 Oct
3  Russia 5 2 2 1 9 3 +6 8 Final tournament or play-offs 14 Jun 5 Sep — 12 Oct 4–0 1–1
4  Montenegro 5 1 2 2 3 5 −2 5 9 Oct 1–1 0–3[lower-alpha 1] — 5 Sep 2–0
5  Liechtenstein 5 1 1 3 1 11 −10 4 0–5 9 Oct 8 Sep 0–0 — 14 Jun
6  Moldova 5 0 1 4 2 8 −6 1 1–2 0–2 9 Oct 8 Sep 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 27 March 2015. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ↑ Montenegro home match against Russia was awarded as a 3–0 win to Russia[1] after match was abandoned after 67 minutes due to crowd violence and scuffle between players (caused by Dmitri Kombarov being hit by an object thrown from the Montenegrin sector[2]). The original score was 0–0 and Russia missed a penalty moments before the match got abandoned. This was the second delay of the match as in the first minute, Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was hit by a flare, causing a 33-minute delay.[3] Both teams were then charged by the UEFA.[4]

Results and fixtures

2014

2015

Current squad

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Sweden on 27 March 2015.
Caps and goals are correct as of 27 March 2015 after the game against Sweden.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 GK Nicolae Calancea 29 August 1986 13 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
1 GK Ilie Cebanu 29 December 1986 13 0 Russia Mordovia Saransk
23 GK Alexei Coșelev 19 November 1993 0 0 Moldova Tiraspol
3 DF Alexandru Epureanu (Captain) 7 September 1986 67 8 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir
4 DF Victor Golovatenco 28 April 1984 64 3 Russia Sibir Novosibirsk
2 DF Igor Armaș 14 July 1987 39 2 Russia Kuban Krasnodar
5 DF Petru Racu 17 July 1987 32 1 Moldova Milsami
6 DF Vadim Bolohan 15 August 1986 14 0 Moldova Tiraspol
15 DF Veaceslav Posmac 7 November 1990 11 1 Moldova Dacia Chișinău
DF Maxim Antoniuc 15 January 1991 5 0 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
16 DF Ștefan Burghiu 28 March 1991 4 0 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
DF Iulian Erhan 1 July 1986 4 0 Moldova Milsami
13 DF Ion Jardan 10 January 1990 4 0 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
DF Denis Rassulov 17 July 1989 1 0 Moldova Milsami
DF Sergiu Cojocari 15 May 1988 0 0 Moldova Dacia Chișinău
8 MF Alexandru Gațcan 27 March 1984 43 3 Russia Rostov
18 MF Artur Pătraș 1 October 1988 22 0 Moldova Milsami Orhei
7 MF Artur Ioniță 17 August 1990 19 2 Italy Verona
19 MF Serghei Gheorghiev 20 October 1991 17 0 Uzbekistan Navbahor Namangan
14 MF Andrei Cojocari 21 January 1987 14 1 Moldova Milsami Orhei
21 MF Anatol Cheptine 20 May 1990 9 0 Moldova Academia Chișinău
9 MF Gheorghe Andronic 25 September 1991 5 1 Moldova Milsami Orhei
22 MF Cătălin Carp 20 October 1993 2 1 Romania CFR Cluj
MF Vadim Rață 5 May 1993 1 0 Moldova Tiraspol
20 DF Viorel Frunză 6 December 1979 36 7 Moldova Dacia Chișinău
10 FW Alexandru Dedov 26 July 1989 25 2 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
11 FW Gheorghe Boghiu 26 February 1981 4 0 Moldova Tiraspol
FW Igor Dima 11 February 1993 1 0 Moldova Saxan Gagauz Yeri
17 FW Dan Spătaru 24 May 1994 1 0 Romania Astra Giurgiu

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Stanislav Namașco 10 November 1986 39 0 Azerbaijan AZAL v.  Montenegro, 8 September 2014
GK Denis Rusu 2 August 1990 0 0 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău v.  Ukraine, 3 September 2014
GK Artiom Gaiduchevici 22 April 1987 7 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Canada, 27 May 2014
DF Vasile Jardan 20 July 1993 0 0 Moldova Dacia Chișinău v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
DF Maxim Focsa 21 April 1992 0 0 Moldova Academia Chișinău v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
DF Victor Gheorghiu 24 June 1992 0 0 Moldova Milsami v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
DF Andrian Cașcaval 10 August 1987 3 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Ukraine, 3 September 2014
DF Alexandru Leu 4 May 1991 1 0 Moldova Academia Chișinău v.  Cameroon, 7 June 2014
MF Alexandru Suvorov 2 February 1987 50 7 Russia Mordovia Saransk v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
MF Denis Calincov 15 September 1985 21 2 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
MF Alexandru Antoniuc 23 May 1989 18 2 Moldova Milsami Orhei v.  Russia, 12 October 2014
MF Alexandru Vremea 3 November 1991 2 0 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău v.  Austria, 9 October 2014 (preliminary)
MF Eugeniu Cebotaru 16 October 1984 40 0 Russia Sibir Novosibirsk v.  Montenegro, 8 September 2014
MF Oleg Clonin 4 February 1988 2 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț v.  Cameroon, 7 June 2014
MF Daniel Pîslă 14 June 1986 1 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Canada, 27 May 2014
FW Igor Picușceac 27 March 1983 23 3 Russia Amkar Perm v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
FW Radu Gînsari 10 December 1991 5 0 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol v.  Liechtenstein, 15 November 2014
FW Eugen Sidorenco 19 March 1989 24 7 Israel Nazareth Illit v.  Russia, 12 October 2014
FW Serghei Alexeev 31 May 1986 25 5 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău v.  Montenegro, 8 September 2014
FW Vladislav Ivanov 7 May 1990 3 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Cameroon, 7 June 2014
FW Andrei Bugneac 30 March 1988 1 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Cameroon, 7 June 2014
FW Mihai Țurcan 20 September 1989 1 0 Moldova Veris Chișinău v.  Cameroon, 7 June 2014
FW Henrique Luvannor 19 May 1990 4 2 United Arab Emirates Al-Shabab v.  Canada, 27 May 2014

Player history

Players in bold are still active.

Last match updated was against  Sweden on 28 March 2014.

Most capped players

Rank Player Appearances
1 Radu Rebeja 74
2 Serghei Cleșcenco 69
3 Alexandru Epureanu 67
4 Victor Golovatenco 66
5 Ion Testemițanu 56
6 Valeriu Catinsus 55
7 Serghei Rogaciov 52
8 Alexandru Suvorov 50
9 Serghei Epureanu 47
10 Serghei Stroenco 46

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals
1 Serghei Cleșcenco 11
2 Serghei Rogaciov 9
3 Sergiu Dadu 8
Iurie Miterev 8
5 Alexandru Epureanu 7
Igor Bugaiov 7
Alexandr Suvorov 7
Viorel Frunză 7
Eugen Sidorenco 7
10 Serghei Alexandrov 5
Ion Testemițanu 5
Serghei Alexeev 5

Clean Sheets

Rank Player Goals
1 Evgheni Hmaruc 11
2 Stanislav Namașco 10
3 Vasile Coșelev 6
Serghei Dinov 6
5 Artiom Gaiduchevici 4
6 Denis Romanenco 3
Nicolae Calancea 3
8 Ilie Cebanu 2
9 Alexei Jmurco 1
Alexandru Melenciuc 1

Moldova all-time record against all nations

Last match updated was against  Sweden on 28 March 2015.
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD % Won
 Georgia104241114-340%
 Azerbaijan834174+337.5%
 Lithuania8242911-225%
 Turkey8026218-160%
 Belarus7223710-328.57%
 Hungary7124610-414.29%
 Malta632176+150%
 Poland6015210-80%
 Sweden6006318-150%
 Estonia511313-220%
 Greece501429-70%
 Israel502337-40%
 San Marino5500120+12100%
 Ukraine502336-30%
 Romania5014312-90%
 Armenia412175+225%
 England4004016-160%
 Finland411257-225%
 Germany4004318-150%
 Italy400429-70%
 Netherlands400419-80%
 Norway401416-50%
 Kazakhstan421133050%
 Albania301226-40%
 Andorra321062+466.67%
 Austria310224-233.33%
 Latvia310256-133.33%
 Luxembourg312021+133.33%
 Macedonia30303300%
 Montenegro310255033.33%
 Slovakia310245-133.33%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina211032+150%
 Bulgaria200217-60%
 Czech Republic200207-70%
 Jordan210121+150%
 Northern Ireland20202200%
 Scotland201113-20%
 Slovenia200215-40%
  Switzerland200204-40%
 United States201114-30%
 Wales210133050%
 Cameroon10010100%
 Canada10101100%
 Congo110031+2100%
 Croatia100101-10%
 Cyprus100123-10%
 El Salvador100102-20%
 Indonesia110021+1100%
 Iraq100101-10%
 Kyrgyzstan110021+1100%
 Liechtenstein100101-10%
 Pakistan110050+5100%
 Portugal100103-30%
 Russia101112-10%
 Saudi Arabia110040+4100%
 Sudan110021+1100%
 United Arab Emirates100123-10%
 Venezuela100104-40%
Total1914145105168308-14021.47%

Managers

[5]

Period Coach Played Win Drawn Loss % Won
1991–1992 Moldova Ion Caras 2 0 1 1 0%
1992 Russia Eugen Piunovschi 5 3 0 2 60%
1992–1997 Moldova Ion Caras 27 5 3 19 18.52%
1998–1999 Moldova Ivan Danilianț 14 2 7 5 14.29%
1999–2001 Moldova Alexandru Mațiura 17 4 4 9 23.53%
2001 Moldova Alexandru Spiridon 4 1 0 3 25%
2002–2006 Ukraine Viktor Pasulko 35 7 8 20 20%
2006–2007 Moldova Anatol Teslev 6 1 2 3 16.67%
2007–2009 Russia Igor Dobrovolski 30 7 9 14 23.33%
2010–2011 Romania Gavril Balint 18 5 2 11 27.78%
2012–2014 Moldova Ion Caras 27 6 7 14 22.22%
2014–Present Moldova Alexandru Curtianu 6 0 2 4 0%

Sports kits and sponsorships

Team kit prior to Mar. 2006 – Diadora

On 5 April 2007, Moldova debuted a new Jako kit. This replaced the Jako home kit with a blue base and the traditional Jako styles which was used in 2007. Prior to March 2007 Moldova wore a Diadora kit.

Memorable results

Date Tournament Place Opponent Score
20 May 1992 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Lithuania 1 – 1
18 August 1992 Friendly Amman, Jordan  Pakistan 5 – 0
20 August 1992 Friendly Amman, Jordan  Sudan 2 – 1
28 August 1992 Friendly Amman, Jordan  Congo 3 – 1
14 October 1992 Friendly Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia 0 – 0
16 April 1994 Friendly Jacksonville, United States  United States 1 – 1
2 September 1994 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Azerbaijan 2 – 1
7 September 1994 Euro 1996 qualifying Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia 1 – 0
12 October 1994 Euro 1996 qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Wales 3 – 2
15 November 1995 Euro 1996 qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Georgia 3 – 2
9 April 1996 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Ukraine 2 – 2
30 October 1996 Friendly Genoa, Italy  Indonesia 2 – 1
16 August 1998 Friendly Kaunas, Lithuania  Lithuania 1 – 1
20 August 1998 Friendly Kohtla-Järve, Estonia  Estonia 1 – 0
23 September 1998 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Romania B 0 – 0
18 November 1998 Euro 2000 qualifying Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 2 – 2
10 March 1999 Friendly Attard, Malta  Malta 2 – 0
31 March 1999 Euro 2000 qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Northern Ireland 0 – 0
9 June 1999 Euro 2000 qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Finland 0 – 0
18 August 1999 Friendly Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 1 – 1
8 September 1999 Euro 2000 qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Turkey 1 – 1
4 February 2000 Cyprus Tournament Larnaca, Cyprus  Lithuania 2 – 1
6 February 2000 Cyprus Tournament Larnaca, Cyprus  Slovakia 2 – 0
26 April 2000 Friendly Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 1 – 0
16 August 2000 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Malta 1 – 0
11 October 2000 2002 World Cup qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Macedonia 0 – 0
24 March 2001 2002 World Cup qualifying Baku, Azerbaijan  Azerbaijan 0 – 0
25 April 2001 Friendly Chișinău, Moldova  Estonia 0 – 0
2 June 2001 2002 World Cup qualifying Skopje, Macedonia  Macedonia 2 – 2
1 September 2001 2002 World Cup qualifying Chișinău, Moldova  Azerbaijan 2 – 0
11 February 2002 Rothmans Tournament Attard, Malta  Jordan 2 – 0
20 November 2002 Friendly Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 1 – 1
12 February 2003 Friendly Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia 2 – 2
5 March 2003 Friendly Tel Aviv, Israel  Israel 0 – 0

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Russia given 3-0 win over Montenegro after suspended game". 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Montenegro v Russia abandoned (Telegraph)". 28 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Montenegro v Russia abandoned (Daily Mail)". 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "MNE and RUS charged by UEFA". 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Moldova national team managers". eu-football.info. Retrieved 23 November 2013.

External links

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