Sports roundup

A roundup of the sports action at the weekend.

Florin Orban, 18.11.2019, 13:45

Romania’s national football squad failed to qualify directly to Euro 2020. On Friday, the Romanians were defeated on home turf by Sweden, 2-nil. Spain and Sweden are the teams of the preliminary Group F to go to the European Championship. Romania’s last chance now is the Nations Leagues playoff. In the playoff’s semifinal, Cosmin Contra’s team will be up against Scotland or Island in March, depending on the draw of November 22 in Nyon, Switzerland. Until then, the Romanians will play against Spain in Madrid, in their last match of Group F.

Romanian Cristina Simion of Steaua Bucharest Sports Club won on Saturday the gold medal at the World Mountain Running Championships in Argentina. The race was 41-km long. Cristina Simion was followed by the French athletes Adeline Roche and Blandine L’Hirondel. In the same competition, Romania won bronze in women’s team event. Romania participated in the World Mountain Running Championships with nine athletes.

It’s news from handball now. The women’s teams representing Romania in the Champions League qualified to the main stage of the competition, although they were both defeated during the weekend. Vice-champion SCM Bucharest was defeated by Rostov Don of Russia away from home in Group B and will thus enter the main groups with only three points, collected from the direct matches with Rostov and Team Esbjerg from Denmark. SCM Ramnicu Valcea qualified to the main groups from the 3rd place of Group C. Romania’s champion was defeated on Saturday by the French team Brest Bretagne Handball, 26-23, on home turf. Romania also has two teams in the EHF Cup: Magura Cisnadie and Corona Brasov.