How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying?
• Romania confirmed their progress to their first finals tournament since UEFA EURO 2000™ with two games to go, with a 2-0 win in Luxembourg completing a run of ten unbeaten games in Group G.
• It was vindication for coach Victor Piţurcă, who had also led Romania through qualifying for UEFA EURO 2000™ but was no longer in the post when the finals came round.
• Romania got their campaign off to a shaky start when they conceded two late goals in a 2-2 home draw with Bulgaria but that was to be their biggest setback.
• A 0-0 draw in the Netherlands in their fourth game sparked a run of six straight wins, with Dorin Goian scoring the only goal in the return against the Dutch in Constanta to leave Romania on the threshold of the finals.
• They took the final step by winning 2-0 in Luxembourg through goals from Florentin Petre and Ciprian Marica.
• Although Piţurcă's side let their unbeaten record slip in their next game, losing 1-0 in Bulgaria, they finished the campaign with a 6-1 victory over nine-man Albania to confirm their place as group winners.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round?
• Excluding Germany, the hosts and automatic qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, Romania were the only second seeds in the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualification round draw not to have advanced to at least the play-offs. They finished in third place behind the Netherlands and the Czech Republic in their efforts to advance to the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.
• Romania had eight wins and a draw from their twelve-game campaign to finish seven points behind the Dutch, two points behind the Czechs and nine points clear of their closest pursuers, Finland.
• Three wins from their opening three games had Romania in pole position early in proceedings, but they finished off 2004 with a 1-0 loss away against the Czech Republic and were then held to a 1-1 draw away against Armenia despite holding an interval lead following Ciprian Marica's 29th-minute goal. Karen Dokhoyan equalised for the Armenians on the hour mark.
• They then opened 2005 with another defeat, this time a 2-0 reverse at home against the Netherlands, their only blemish on Romanian soil throughout the qualification round. Phillip Cocu scored the opening goal at the Giulesti stadium in the opening minute before Ryan Babel added a second six minutes from time.
• After defeating F.Y.R. Macedonia 2-1 in Skopje, the Romanians were defeated in Rotterdam with Arjen Robben (26) and Dirk Kuyt (47) on target for the home side.
• Nevertheless, Romania finished off their campaign in some style, winning four matches in a row and without conceding a goal in 403 minutes. Adrian Mutu scored their final five goals of the qualification round, enough to defeat Andorra (2-0) and the Czech Republic (2-0) at home before Finland (1-0) were overcome in Helsinki.
How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Romania finished third in their five-team group behind Denmark and Norway in the race to compete in the UEFA EURO 2004™ final round in Portugal. With four wins and two draws from their eight outings, Romania trailed group winners Denmark by a point, and although they finished level with Norway, they lost out due to an inferior head-to-head record. Bosnia-Herzegovina finished a further point behind in fourth with Luxembourg pointless in fifth.
• It was their home form that proved Romania's undoing, losing in their second outing of the competition in Bucharest to Steffen Iversen's 83rd-minute goal for Norway. Worse was to come as Denmark recorded a 5-2 victory in the Romanian capital despite the home side taking the lead on two occasions. Adrian Mutu had put Romania one-up after five minutes only for Dennis Rommedahl to equalise three minutes later. Dorinel Munteanu then restored Romania's advantage two minutes into the second half before the Danes responded with four goals of their own thanks to Thomas Gravesen (53), Jon Dahl Tomasson (71), a Cosmin Contra own goal (73) and Rommedahl (90+2).
• Victories against Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina were comfortable, the Romanians winning the four matches by a combined record of 16 goals scored and none conceded. Their greatest margin of victory came away to Luxembourg, a 7-0 win in which Contra (45+1, 47 and 86) netted a hat-trick.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Romania topped their qualification round group for UEFA EURO 2000™ with 24 points from their ten matches. Their reward was to be drawn against England, Germany and Portugal in the group stage of the final tournament. Romanian hopes were receding following one point from their opening two games, but a 3-2 defeat of England, with Ioan Ganea scoring the winner in the 89th minute, provided them with a place in the knockout stage. Italy ended their involvement in the competition, running out 2-0 winners following their quarter-final meeting with goals from Francesco Totti (33) and Filippo Inzaghi (43).
Key facts
• Although Romania qualified for the 1984 and 1996 UEFA European Championship finals, they failed to win a match. Their first victory in the finals actually took place in their ninth match, defeating England 3-2 in the UEFA EURO 2000™ finals, a result that provided them with a place in the knockout stages of the competition.
All-time record
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Romania had appeared in all 13 UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions, and had played 105 matches. In that time, they had won 52, drawn 27 and lost 26 with 191 goals scored and 104 conceded.
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