RRI Sports Club

Romanias good run in the UEFA Nations League

Florin Orban, 21.11.2018, 13:37

Romanias national football team had no defeats in UEFA Nations Leagues inaugural season. According to the final rankings, Romania came in 2nd in Series C, Group 4, behind Serbia, but ahead of Montenegro and Lithuania. In the last fixture of the group, this Tuesday on the Gradksi stadium in Podgorica, Romania grabbed a 1-nil win against Montenegro.

The Romanian eleven put up a good performance. They wasted many opportunities to score but struck it lucky on 44 minutes, when George Tucudean put the team into the lead, with the help of goalie Danijel Petkovic. We should also mention that on 72 minutes Montenegro failed to turn a penalty kick into a goal. All in all, Romanias record in 2018 includes seven wins and three draws. Tuesdays win against Montenegro was the first in the two teams 4 official matches so far.

In the other Group 4 match in Series C, Serbia trounced Lithuania on home turf, 4-1. Had Serbia drawn or lost against Lithuania, Romania would have come at the top of the table in Group 4.

Serbias top place in the group earned them a place in the UEFA Nations Leagues second tier. They will compete in the playoffs for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers. In case Serbia secures its qualification after the EURO 2020 qualifying tournament, Romania will take its place in the playoffs for the European Championship, to be held in two years time.

Having secured the 2nd place, Romania has been distributed to pot 4 after the draw for the EURO 2020 preliminaries. The Romanian national squad needed a better goal average to secure a better position in UEFA Nations Leagues series C and keep a place in pot 3. The draw will take place in Dublin, on November 2nd.

(translated by: Eugen Nasta)