Romania national under-21 football team

Romania U-21
Nickname(s) Tricolorii Mici (The Little Tricolours)
Association Romanian Football Federation
Head coach Cristian Dulca
Most caps Gabriel Torje (24)
Top scorer Gabriel Torje (9)
First colours
Second colours
Biggest win
 Armenia 0–5 Romania 
(Yerevan, Armenia; 16 November 2004)
 Azerbaijan 0–5 Romania 
(Trabzon, Turkey; 25 April 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Germany 8–0 Romania 
(Magdeburg, Germany; 9 September 2014)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 1998)
Best result Eighth in 1998

The Romania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.

The team is coached by former international Viorel Moldovan and is usually captained by Crotone defender Mihai Bălașa.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, under-21 football teams in Europe were formed. The team is exclusively for football players that are age 21 or under at the start of the two-year campaign of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship meaning a player can represent the national team until the age of 23.

The best result achieved by the Romania U-21 squad is the qualification for the 1998 European Championship. Under the guidance of Victor Pițurcă and with a generation of players that included among others Bogdan Lobonț, Florentin Petre, Ionel Dănciulescu and Cătălin Munteanu, Romania U-21 finished the qualifying stage with maximum points after winning all eight games. Romania was then chosen as the host of the final stage. The squad was eliminated in the quarter-finals, being beaten by the Netherlands, 2-1.

The Romania under-21 team does not have a permanent home. The team plays in stadiums located all around Romania. Because of the smaller demand compared to the senior national team, smaller facilities are used.

Competitive record

UEFA U-21 Championship Record

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship record UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification record
Year Round Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1978 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 5 8
1980 4 2 0 2 7 3
1982 6 2 1 3 9 12
1984 6 2 1 3 8 12
1986 6 1 4 1 5 7
1988 6 3 0 3 7 7
1990 6 3 0 3 8 7
1992 6 2 0 4 5 9
France 1994 8 5 0 3 13 10
Spain 1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
Romania 1998 Quarter-Final 1 0 0 1 1 2 8 8 0 0 18 4
Slovakia 2000 Did not qualify 8 3 3 2 10 8
Switzerland 2002 8 5 1 2 13 5
Germany 2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
Portugal 2006 10 6 1 3 17 8
Netherlands 2007 2 1 0 1 4 5
Sweden 2009 8 4 3 1 11 3
Denmark 2011 10 8 1 1 23 6
Israel 2013 8 4 2 2 11 6
Czech Republic 2015 8 3 3 2 14 19
Total 1/18 1 0 0 1 1 2 140 69 25 46 211 156

Olympic Games

Football at the Summer Olympics was first played officially in 1908. The Olympiads between 1896 and 1980 was only open for amateur players. The 1984 and 1988 tournaments were open to players with no appearances in the FIFA World Cup. After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 or U21 teams with a maximum of three older players. See Romania national football team for competition record from 1908 until 1988.

Olympic Games record Olympic Games Qualification record **
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Spain 1992 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 5 9
United States 1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
Australia 2000 8 3 3 2 10 8
Greece 2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
China 2008 2 1 0 1 4 5
United Kingdom 2012 10 8 1 1 23 6
Brazil 2016 8 3 3 2 14 19
Total 0/6 0 Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 23 12 17 79 64
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Includes both qualification phase and final tournament of UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
***Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

EURO 2015

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 8 6 2 0 25 5 +20 20 Play-offs
2  Romania 8 3 3 2 14 19 −5 12
3  Montenegro 8 3 2 3 12 11 +1 11
4  Republic of Ireland 8 2 2 4 10 12 −2 8
5  Faroe Islands 8 1 1 6 9 23 −14 4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

EURO 2017

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Wales 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3 Final tournament — – – – – 3–1
2  Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible Play-offs based on ranking – — – – – –
3  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — 16 Jun '15 – –
4  Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – — – –
5  Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – – — –
6  Bulgaria 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0 – – – – – —
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2015. Source: UEFA

Players

Current squad

Players called up for the friendly games against Iceland and Cyprus on 26 and 31 March 2015.

Caps and goals as of 31 March 2015.
# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Laurențiu Brănescu 30 March 1994 10 0 Hungary Haladás
GK Valentin Cojocaru 1 October 1995 4 0 Romania Steaua București
GK Răzvan Began 12 August 1996 0 0 Romania CFR Cluj
DF Steliano Filip 15 May 1994 9 0 Romania Dinamo București
DF Deian Boldor (Captain) 3 February 1995 8 1 Italy Pescara
DF Bogdan Țîru 15 March 1994 6 1 Romania Viitorul
DF Cristian Manea 9 August 1997 3 0 Romania Viitorul
DF Florin Anițoiu 25 April 1994 2 0 Romania Metalul Reșița
DF Robert Hodorogea 24 March 1995 2 0 Romania Viitorul
DF George Miron 28 May 1994 1 0 Romania Oțelul Galați
MF Claudiu Bumba 5 January 1994 12 2 Romania Târgu Mureș
MF Dragoș Nedelcu 16 February 1997 8 0 Romania Viitorul
MF Dorin Rotariu 29 July 1995 8 0 Romania Dinamo București
MF Alexandru Mitriță 8 February 1995 5 1 Romania Viitorul
MF Doru Popadiuc 18 February 1995 5 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
MF Iulian Cristea 17 July 1994 4 0 Romania Gaz Metan Mediaș
MF Constantin Păun-Alexandru 1 April 1995 3 0 Romania CFR Cluj
MF Andrei Cerlincă 6 August 1995 2 0 Romania Rapid București
MF Lucian Ion 10 March 1994 2 0 Romania Balotești
MF Cătălin Ștefănescu 30 November 1994 2 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
MF Sorin Tăbăcariu 23 July 1994 2 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
FW George Pușcaș 8 April 1996 5 4 Italy Internazionale
FW Alexandru Tudorie 19 March 1996 3 0 Romania Oțelul Galați
FW Andrei Ivan 4 January 1997 2 0 Romania CSU Craiova

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Romania under-21 squad and remain eligible:

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Roland Niczuly 21 September 1995 0 0 Romania Unirea Tărlungeni v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF Ionuț Neag 18 February 1994 3 1 Romania Universitatea Cluj v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF Bogdan Mitache 1 January 1994 2 0 Romania Voluntari v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF Ionuț Nedelcearu 25 April 1996 1 0 Romania Dinamo București v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF Nicolae Vasile 29 December 1995 0 0 Romania Rapid București v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF Mihai Bălașa 14 January 1995 9 2 Italy Crotone v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
DF Adrian Puțanu 9 January 1994 2 0 Romania Viitorul v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
MF Florin Tănase INJ 30 December 1994 5 2 Romania Viitorul v.  Iceland, 26 March 2015
MF Ionuț Șerban 7 August 1995 4 0 Romania Dinamo București v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF Cristian Bărbuț 22 April 1995 2 0 Romania ACS Poli v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF Iulian Roșu 30 May 1994 2 0 Romania Astra Giurgiu v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF Rareș Enceanu 5 August 1994 1 0 Romania Steaua București v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF Alexandru Dan 30 January 1994 6 0 Romania Rapid București v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
MF Răzvan Marin 23 May 1996 0 0 Romania Viitorul v.  Germany, 9 September 2014
MF Alexandru Ioniță 14 December 1994 2 0 Romania Astra Giurgiu v.  Faroe Islands, 5 March 2014
MF Andrei Vaștag 21 March 1994 3 0 Romania Viitorul v.  Cyprus, 13 August 2013
FW Cătălin Țîră 18 June 1994 3 1 Romania Brașov v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
FW Valentin Balint 7 February 1994 2 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
FW Gabriel Iancu 15 April 1994 10 2 Romania Steaua București v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
FW Alexandru Buziuc 15 March 1994 2 0 Romania Gaz Metan Mediaș v.  Germany, 9 September 2014
Notes

Coaching staff

Head coach Romania Cristian Dulca
Assistant coach Romania Florin Constantinovici
Physical coach Italy Matteo Spatafora

Results

Recent results within last 24 months and upcoming fixtures.

Date Competition Venue Opponent Result Scorers
7 June 2013 EURO 2015 Q Svangaskarð, Toftir  Faroe Islands 2–2 Iancu  47'
Buș  85'
13 August 2013 Friendly Stadionul Berceni, Berceni  Cyprus 0–2
10 September 2013 EURO 2015 Q Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica  Montenegro 2–3 Mihai Roman  59', 90' (pen.)
11 October 2013 EURO 2015 Q Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamț  Republic of Ireland 0–0
15 October 2013 EURO 2015 Q Showgrounds, Sligo  Republic of Ireland 1–0 Martin  54'
19 November 2013 EURO 2015 Q Stadionul Marin Anastasovici, Giurgiu  Germany 2–2 Bumba  24'
Benzar  75'
5 March 2014 EURO 2015 Q Stadionul Mogoşoaia, Mogoșoaia  Faroe Islands 3–1 Kalsø  18' (o.g.)
Martin  56'
Gavra  66'
13 August 2014 Friendly Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești  Italy 2–1 Pușcaș  30'
Bălașa  44'
4 September 2014 EURO 2015 Q Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest  Montenegro 4–3 Boldor  10'
Pușcaș  67'
Bumba  79' (pen.)
Tănase  82'
9 September 2014 EURO 2015 Q MDCC-Arena, Magdeburg  Germany 0–8
8 October 2014 Friendly Stadionul Municipal, Buzău  Albania 3–1 Iancu  15'
Neag  77'
Tănase  83'
13 October 2014 Friendly Philip II Arena, Skopje  Macedonia 1–2 Bălașa  69'
13 November 2014 Friendly Belgrade  Serbia 1–0 Țîră  9'
26 March 2015 Friendly Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș  Iceland 3–0 Pușcaș  9', 51'
Mitriță  48'
31 March 2015 Friendly Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș  Cyprus 1–0 Țîru  62'
16 June 2015 EURO 2017 Q  Armenia
4 September 2015 EURO 2017 Q  Bulgaria
9 October 2015 EURO 2017 Q  Luxembourg
13 November 2015 EURO 2017 Q  Denmark

Former squads

See also

External links