Sports Flash
This week, we will find out the line-up of the groups in the Romanian Football Cup
Florin Orban, 20.08.2026, 11:45
One of the Champions League play-off matches was held in Bucharest on Wednesday. Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva, playing as the home team, faced Azerbaijan’s Sabah on the Giulești Stadium. The Israeli champions won 2–1. Should Hapoel advance, the club may play its home matches in the Romanian capital, giving Bucharest football fans another opportunity to see some of Europe’s top teams in action.
In domestic football, the play-off matches of the Romanian Cup are taking place this week. The 32 teams involved include 24 that have advanced from the previous rounds of the competition and eight Superliga sides, namely those that finished last season in the bottom half of the table.
Wednesday produced two notable upsets. Second-division side Concordia Chiajna qualified for the Romanian Cup group stage after a resounding 5–1 home victory over top-flight Oțelul Galați. Another second-tier club to advance is FC Bihor, which defeated first-division side Farul Constanța 1–0 in Oradea.
This weekend will see another round of matches in the Romanian football Superliga. The round kicks off on Friday in Ploiești with a historic fixture in Romanian football. Petrolul will take on Rapid Bucharest, two of Romania’s oldest and most popular clubs.
Moving on to tennis, Sorana Cîrstea was knocked out in the last 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, which offers 7.433 million dollars in prize money. Seeded 15th, the Romanian was defeated 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 by third seed Jessica Pegula. The American now leads their head-to-head record 3–1. Their first encounter took place 15 years ago in Midland, Missouri, with Cîrstea winning 7–6, 6–3.
At the end of this week, the European Women’s Volleyball Championship gets under way, with matches hosted by four countries: Turkey, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and Sweden. Romania are in Group C, with all group matches to be played in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
On Saturday, Romania will face the Netherlands, followed by Azerbaijan on Monday and Belgium on Tuesday. Next Thursday, they will take on Portugal, before facing Spain a day later. The top four teams in the group will qualify for the round of 16. (MI)
