Romania national under-21 football team

Romania's 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.

Romania U-21
Nickname(s)Tricolorii mici (The Small Tricolours)
AssociationRomanian Football Federation
Head coachAdrian Mutu
CaptainVirgil Ghiță
Most capsIonuț Luțu (28)
Top scorerGeorge Puşcaş (18)
Home stadiumIlie Oană
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
Appearances3 (first in 1998)
Best resultSemi-Finals 2019

This team is for Romanian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football 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.)

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 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. The team's manager is Adrian Mutu.

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.

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
1994 8 5 0 3 13 10
1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
1998 Quarter-Finals 3 0 0 3 2 5 8 8 0 0 18 4
2000 Did not qualify 8 3 3 2 10 8
2002 8 5 1 2 13 5
2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
2006 10 6 1 3 17 8
2007 2 1 0 1 4 5
2009 8 4 3 1 11 3
2011 10 8 1 1 23 6
2013 8 4 2 2 11 6
2015 8 3 3 2 14 19
2017 10 5 1 4 15 14
2019 Semi-Finals 4 2 1 1 10 7 10 7 3 0 19 4
2021 Qualified 10 6 2 2 22 7
Total 3/22 7 2 1 4 12 12 160 87 31 52 268 181

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
1992 Did not qualify 6 2 0 4 5 9
1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
2000 8 3 3 2 10 8
2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
2008 2 1 0 1 4 5
2012 10 8 1 1 23 6
2016 8 3 3 2 14 19
2020 Qualified 14 9 4 1 29 11
2024 To be determined 0 0 0 0 0 0
2028 0 0 0 0 0 0
*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 2021
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 10 8 2 0 21 9 +12 26 Final tournament — 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 5–1
2  Romania 10 6 2 2 22 7 +15 20 1–1 — 3–0 4–1 3–0 4–1
3  Ukraine 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16 2–3 1–0 — 0–2 3–0 4–0
4  Finland 10 4 1 5 14 15 −1 13 0–1 1–3 0–2 — 1–1 4–0
5  Northern Ireland 10 2 3 5 7 13 −6 9 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–3 — 0–0
6  Malta 10 0 1 9 4 30 −26 1 1–3 0–3 1–4 0–1 0–2 —
Source: UEFA

Results and fixtures
Main article: Romania national under-21 football team results

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019
21 March 2019 (2019-03-21) Friendly Spain  1–0  Romania Granada, Spain
19:45 UTC+02:00 Merino  67' Report Stadium: Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes
25 March 2019 (2019-03-25) Unofficial friendly Romania  1–0  Denmark Marbella, Spain
19:15 UTC+02:00 Drăguș  42' Stadium: Marbella Football Center
18 June 2019 (2019-06-18) 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Romania  4–1  Croatia Serravalle, San Marino
18:30 Pușcaș  11' (pen.)
Hagi  14'
Băluță  66'
Petre  90+3'		 Report Vlašić  18' Stadium: San Marino Stadium
Attendance: 4,700
Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)
21 June 2019 (2019-06-21) 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship England  2–4  Romania Cesena, Italy
18:30 Gray  79'
Abraham  87'		 Report Pușcaș  76' (pen.)
Hagi  85'
Coman  89', 90+3'		 Stadium: Stadio Dino Manuzzi
Attendance: 8,440
Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)
24 June 2019 (2019-06-24) 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship France  0–0  Romania Cesena, Italy
21:00 Report Stadium: Stadio Dino Manuzzi
Attendance: 12,861
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)
27 June 2019 (2019-06-27) 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Germany  4–2  Romania Bologna, Italy
18:00 Amiri  21', 90+4'
Waldschmidt  51' (pen.), 90'		 Report Pușcaș  26' (pen.), 44' Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara
Attendance: 16,211
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)
10 September 2019 (2019-09-10) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Denmark  2–1  Romania Aalborg, Denmark
19:30 UTC+02:00 Olsen  3', 55' Report Coman  80' Stadium: Aalborg Stadium
Referee: Erez Papir (Israel)
10 October 2019 (2019-10-10) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Romania  3–0  Ukraine Ploieşti, Romania
20:30 UTC+02:00 Moruţan  75'
Petre  80', 90+4'		 Report Stadium: Ilie Oană
Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland)
14 October 2019 (2019-10-14) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Romania  3–0  Northern Ireland Voluntari, Romania
20:30 UTC+02:00 Băluţă  48'
Mihăilă  59'
Ciobanu  67'		 Report Stadium: Anghel Iordănescu
Referee: Nejc Kajtazović (Slovenia)
14 November 2019 (2019-11-14) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Romania  4–1  Finland Voluntari, Romania
UTC+02:00 Mihăilă  8', 16', 78'
Hyvärinen  45+5' (o.g.)		 Report Kairinen  3' Stadium: Anghel Iordănescu
Attendance: 2,325
Referee: Robert Hennessy (Republic of Ireland)
19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Northern Ireland  0–0  Romania Ballymena, Northern Ireland
UTC+02:00 Report Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds

2020
5 August 2020 (2020-08-05) Unofficial friendly Romania  6–0 Farul Constanța Mogoșoaia, Romania
UTC+02:00
Report
4 September 2020 (2020-09-04) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Finland  1–3  Romania Turku, Finland
UTC+02:00
Report
Stadium: Veritas Stadion, Turku
Attendance: 0
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)
8 September 2020 (2020-09-08) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Malta  0–3  Romania Ta' Qali, Malta
UTC+02:00
Stadium: Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali
Attendance: 0
Referee: Gergő Bogár (Hungary)
9 October 2020 (2020-10-09) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Ukraine  1–0  Romania Kiev, Ukraine
UTC+02:00
Stadium: Obolon Arena
13 October 2020 (2020-10-13) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Romania  4–1  Malta Giurgiu, Romania
UTC+02:00
  • Elouni  51'
 Stadium: Stadionul Marin Anastasovici
17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2021 UEFA U21 Q Romania  1-1  Denmark Ploiești, Romania
UTC+02:00
Stadium: Ilie Oană Stadium

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8 match against  Denmark, on 17 November 2020.[1]

Caps and goals as of 17 November 2020 after the match against  Denmark.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Andrei Vlad (1999-04-15) 15 April 1999 8 0 FCSB
12 1GK Mihai Aioani (1999-11-07) 7 November 1999 2 0 Chindia Târgoviște
23 1GK George Micle (2001-11-08) 8 November 2001 0 0 Argeș Pitești
4 2DF Alex Pașcanu (1998-09-28) 28 September 1998 23 0 Ponferradina
2 2DF Radu Boboc (1999-04-24) 24 April 1999 12 0 Viitorul Constanța
19 2DF Denis Haruț (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 5 1 Botoșani
17 2DF Ricardo Grigore (1999-04-07) 7 April 1999 3 0 Dinamo București
15 2DF Denis Ciobotariu (1998-06-10) 10 June 1998 3 0 CFR Cluj
18 2DF Ștefan Vlădoiu (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 2 0 Universitatea Craiova
3 2DF Raul Opruț (1998-01-04) 4 January 1998 2 0 Hermannstadt
10 3MF Ianis Hagi (1998-10-22) 22 October 1998 15 4 Rangers
22 3MF Darius Olaru (1998-03-03) 3 March 1998 12 1 FCSB
9 3MF Olimpiu Moruțan (1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 9 1 FCSB
20 3MF Alexandru Mățan (1999-08-29) 29 August 1999 8 1 Viitorul Constanța
14 3MF Marius Marin (1998-08-30) 30 August 1998 7 0 Pisa
5 3MF Cătălin Itu (1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 4 0 CFR Cluj
8 3MF Carlo Casap (1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 3 0 Viitorul Constanța
16 3MF Claudiu Petrila (2000-11-07) 7 November 2000 1 0 Sepsi OSK
6 3MF Gabriel Simion (1998-05-22) 22 May 1998 0 0 FCSB
21 4FW Valentin Costache (1998-08-02) 2 August 1998 8 3 CFR Cluj
11 4FW George Cîmpanu (2000-10-08) 8 October 2000 1 0 Universitatea Craiova
7 3MF Nicolae Carnat (1998-04-08) 8 April 1998 1 0 CFR Cluj

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 Teodor Axinte (2000-02-02) 2 February 2000 0 0 Politehnica Iași v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
GK Horațiu Moldovan (1998-01-20) 20 January 1998 0 0 Rapid București v.  Malta, 8 September 2020
GK Ștefan Târnovanu (2000-05-09) 9 May 2000 0 0 FCSB v.  Northern Ireland, 19 November 2019
GK Cosmin Dur-Bozoancă (1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 0 0 Farul Constanța v.  Northern Ireland, 14 October 2019
GK Ionuț Rus (2000-01-20) 20 January 2000 0 0 Hermannstadt v.  Denmark, 10 September 2019
DF Virgil Ghiță COV (1998-06-04) 4 June 1998 5 0 Viitorul Constanța v.  Denmark, 17 November 2020
DF Andrei Chindriș (1999-01-12) 12 January 1999 7 0 Botoșani v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
DF Radu Drăgușin (2002-02-03) 3 February 2002 2 0 Juventus v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
DF Andrei Rațiu (1998-06-20) 20 June 1998 3 0 Villarreal v.  Malta, 8 September 2020
DF Vladimir Screciu (2000-01-13) 13 January 2000 1 0 Universitatea Craiova v.  Finland, 4 September 2020
DF Mihai Velisar INJ (1998-08-30) 30 August 1998 3 0 Gaz Metan Mediaș v.  Finland, 14 November 2019
DF Constantin Dima (1999-07-21) 21 July 1999 1 0 Desna Chernihiv v.  Denmark, 10 September 2019
DF Florin Borța (1999-06-21) 21 June 1999 1 0 Concordia Chiajna v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 September 2018
DF Tiberiu Căpușă (1998-04-06) 6 April 1998 1 0 Chindia Târgoviște v.  England, 24 March 2018
MF Vlad Dragomir WD (1999-04-24) 24 April 1999 4 0 Virtus Entella v.  Denmark, 17 November 2020
MF Dennis Man (1998-08-26) 26 August 1998 19 6 Parma v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Andrei Ciobanu (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 15 2 Viitorul Constanța v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Tudor Băluță (1999-03-27) 27 March 1999 8 2 Dynamo Kyiv v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Denis Drăguș (1999-07-06) 6 July 1999 6 0 Crotone v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Ion Gheorghe (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 0 0 Voluntari v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
MF Valentin Mihăilă (2000-02-02) 2 February 2000 6 5 Parma v.  Malta, 8 September 2020
MF Răzvan Oaidă (1998-03-02) 2 March 1998 8 0 FCSB v.  Northern Ireland, 19 November 2019
MF George Merloi (1999-10-15) 15 October 1999 2 0 Astra Giurgiu v.  Northern Ireland, 19 November 2019
MF Mihai Neicuțescu INJ (1998-09-29) 29 September 1998 1 0 Chindia Târgoviște v.  Northern Ireland, 14 October 2019
MF Florinel Coman (1998-04-10) 10 April 1998 15 4 FCSB v.  Denmark, 10 September 2019
MF Alex Dobre (1998-08-30) 30 August 1998 5 1 Dijon v.  Denmark, 10 September 2019
MF Stephan Drăghici (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998 1 0 Argeș Pitești v.  Denmark, 25 March 2019
MF Doru Dumitrescu INJ (1998-05-25) 25 May 1998 1 0 Viitorul Constanța v.  Belgium, 15 November 2018
MF Marco Dulca (1999-05-11) 11 May 1999 5 0 Chindia Târgoviște v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 September 2018
FW George Ganea (1999-05-26) 26 May 1999 7 1 Viitorul Constanța v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
FW Louis Munteanu (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 0 0 Fiorentina v.  Malta, 13 October 2020
FW Adrian Petre (1998-02-11) 11 February 1998 12 5 Cosenza v.  Northern Ireland, 19 November 2019
FW Robert Moldoveanu (1999-03-08) 8 March 1999 0 0 Dinamo București v.  Northern Ireland, 19 November 2019
FW Andrei Sîntean (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 1 0 Hermannstadt v.  Denmark, 25 March 2019
Notes
  • INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
  • SUS = Player is serving suspension
  • Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team.

Coaching staff
As of September 2020.[2]
Role Name
Head Coach Adrian Mutu
Assistant Coaches Nicolae Grigore
Adrian Boingiu
Goalkeeping Coach Eugen Anghel
Fitness Coach Silviu Ioniță
Video Analyst Vlad Munteanu
Physioterapists Adrian Mîrza
Andrei Bogatan
Mădălin Talpalaru
Valentin Șerban
Dragoș Paraschiv

See also

References
  1. https://www.frf.ro/recomandate/u21-spre-euro-2021-ei-sunt-tricolorii-pentru-meciul-cu-danemarca-partida-decisiva-de-calificare/
  2. "Mirel Rădoi şi-a completat staff-ul cu încă un antrenor secund". Digi Sport (in Romanian). 15 January 2020.
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