Romania_national_under-21_football_team

Romania national under-21 football team

Romania national under-21 football team

National under-21 association football team representing Romania

The Romania national under-21 football team, also known as Romania under-21s or Romania U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the Romania national football team.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

This team is for Romanian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for Romania at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player has not played a senior competitive game in his previous country.)

History

The U-21 team came into existence, following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions, in 1976. Romania qualified for the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and under Victor Pițurcă reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by the Netherlands. Romania had been 1–0 up, but were eventually beaten 2–1. The Romanian lineup included players like: Cosmin Contra, Bogdan Lobonț, Cătălin Munteanu, Ionel Dănciulescu and Ion Luțu.

Romania once again qualified unbeaten for the finals after topping their group in the qualifying series. The Romanians reached semi-final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the first time in their history in the 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro but eventually lost 4–2 to defending champions Germany who scored twice in the dying moments. Romania qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics for their first Olympics since 1964. Overall, Romania was a revelation at the tournament, beating both England and Croatia (4-2 and 4–1), and looked on course for a shock before Germany fought back to make the final.

Romania U21s do not have a permanent home. They play in stadia dotted all around Romania, in an attempt to encourage younger fans in all areas of the country to get behind Romania. Because of the lower demand compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds can be used.

Competitive record

UEFA U-21 Championship Record

More information UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship record, UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification record ...

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.

More information Olympic Games record, Olympic Games Qualification record ** ...
*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 2025

Main article: 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E

More information Pos, Pld ...
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated

Results and fixtures

Main article: Romania national under-21 football team results

  Win   Draw   Loss

2023

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) Friendly Romania  0–2  Portugal Bucharest, Romania
UTC+02:00
  • Sousa 24'
  • Neto 36'
 Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Adrian Sorin Costreie (Romania)
28 March 2023 Friendly Romania  0–0  Germany Sibiu, Romania
19:00 Report Stadium: Stadionul Municipal Sibiu
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Vidican Rareș (Romania)
21 June 2023 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Romania  0–3  Spain Bucharest, Romania
21:45 Report
Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 21,227
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)
24 June 2023 (2023-06-24) 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Romania  0–1  Ukraine Bucharest, Romania
19:00 Report Dican 89' (o.g.) Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 14,309
Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark)
27 June 2023 (2023-06-27) 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Croatia  0–0  Romania Bucharest, Romania
21:45 Report Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 7,816
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
12 September 2023 (2023-09-12) 2025 UEFA Q Albania  3–2  Romania Elbasan, Albania
18:30 C. Shpendi 63'
Berisha 71'
Pajaziti 88'		 Report Grameni 47'
Borza 58'		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 713
Referee: Bulat Saryev (Kazakhstan)
13 October 2023 (2023-10-13) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  2–0  Armenia Bucharest, Romania
20:30 Vulturar 37'
Baiaram 80'		 Report Stadium: Rapid-Giulești
Attendance: 2,346
Referee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)
17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  1–0  Finland Sibiu, Romania
18:00 M. Ilie 90+8' Report Stadium: Municipal
Attendance: 7,654
Referee: Luka Bilbija (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  5–0  Albania Bucharest, Romania
19:30 Munteanu 7' (pen.)
M. Ilie 15'
R. Ilie 37'
Grameni 55'
Danciu 86'		 Report Stadium: Rapid-Giulești
Attendance: 2,234
Referee: Matthew De Gabriele (Malta)
21 November 2023 (2023-11-21) 2025 UEFA Q Switzerland  2–2  Romania Neuchâtel, Switzerland
18:30 Sanches 23'
Dos Santos Correia 88'		 Report R. Ilie 11'
Grameni 32'		 Stadium: Maladière
Attendance: 5,359
Referee: Dominik Stary (Czech Republic)

2024

26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) 2025 UEFA Q Armenia  0–1  Romania Armavir, Armenia
15:00 Report C. Mihai 89' Stadium: Armavir
Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak (Poland)
6 September 2024 (2024-09-06) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  –  Montenegro TBA, Romania
TBA Stadium: TBA

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E match against  Armenia on March 26, 2024.[1]

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against  Armenia

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

Players born in or after 2002 are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players have also been called up in the past to the Romania under-21 squad and remain eligible to play in the qualification matches for 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

More information Pos., Player ...
Notes
  • INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
  • SUS = Player is serving suspension
  • WD = Player withdrew from the squad
  • COV = Player withdrawn from the squad due to positive COVID-19 test
  • Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team.

Coaching staff

As of September 2022.[2]
More information Role, Name ...

See also

Footnotes

    References

    1. [1]
      https://www.frf.ro/recomandate/u21-spre-euro-2025-lotul-romaniei-u21-pentru-meciul-cu-armenia//
    2. [2]
      "Mirel Rădoi şi-a completat staff-ul cu încă un antrenor secund". Digi Sport (in Romanian). 15 January 2020.
    Share this article:

    This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Romania_national_under-21_football_team, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.