Romania national under-21 football team

The Romania 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 Under-21
Nickname(s)Tricolorii Mici (The Small Tricolours)
AssociationRomanian Football Federation
Head coachDaniel Pancu
CaptainVladimir Screciu
Most capsAlexandru Pașcanu (29)
Top scorerGeorge Pușcaș (18)
Home stadiumIlie Oană
First colours
Second colours
Third 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
Appearances4 (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 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.)

History

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 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.

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.

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
France 1994 8 5 0 3 13 10
Spain 1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
Romania 1998 Quarter-finals 3 0 0 3 2 5 8 8 0 0 18 4
Slovakia 2000 did not qualify 8 3 3 2 10 8
Switzerland 2002 8 5 1 2 13 5
Germany 2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
Portugal 2006 10 6 1 3 17 8
Netherlands 2007 2 1 0 1 4 5
Sweden 2009 8 4 3 1 11 3
Denmark 2011 10 8 1 1 23 6
Israel 2013 8 4 2 2 11 6
Czech Republic 2015 8 3 3 2 14 19
Poland 2017 10 5 1 4 15 14
Italy San Marino 2019 Semi-finals 4 2 1 1 10 7 10 7 3 0 19 4
Hungary Slovenia 2021 Group stage 3 1 2 0 3 2 10 6 2 2 22 7
Romania Georgia (country) 2023 Group stage 3 0 1 2 0 4 Qualified as hosts
Total 4/24 13 3 4 6 15 18 160 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
Spain 1992 did not qualify 6 2 0 4 5 9
United States 1996 10 4 4 2 17 10
Australia 2000 8 3 3 2 10 8
Greece 2004 8 2 1 5 6 7
China 2008 2 1 0 1 4 5
United Kingdom 2012 10 8 1 1 23 6
Brazil 2016 8 3 3 2 14 19
Japan 2020 qualified 14 9 4 1 29 11
France 2024 did not qualify
United States 2028 to be determined 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 2025
Main article: 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Albania 4 3 0 1 8 7 +1 9 Final tournament — 26 Mar '24 3–2 22 Mar '24 2–0 15 Oct '24
2   Switzerland 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7 Play-offs 6 Sep '24 — 21 Nov 11 Oct '24 4–2 17 Nov
3  Romania 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6 17 Nov 15 Oct '24 — 1–0 6 Sep '24 2–0
4  Finland 3 1 0 2 5 4 +1 3 4–1 1–2 10 Sep '24 — 15 Oct '24 21 Nov
5  Montenegro 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 3 21 Nov 10 Sep '24 11 Oct '24 26 Mar '24 — 22 Mar '24
6  Armenia 4 0 1 3 1 5 −4 1 1–2 0–0 26 Mar '24 6 Sep '24 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 17 October 2023. Source: UEFA

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

  Win   Draw   Loss

2022
23 September 2022 Friendly Romania  1–4  Spain Cluj-Napoca, Romania
16:00 Ruiz 8'
Ruiz 18'
Riquelme 80'
Riquelme 89'		 Report Miculescu 85' Stadium: Cluj Arena
Attendance: 4500
Referee: Sorin Vădana (Romania)
27 September 2022 Friendly Romania  0–0  Netherlands Cluj-Napoca, Romania
16:00 Report Stadium: Cluj Arena

2023
24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) Friendly Romania  0–2  Portugal Bucharest, Romania
UTC+02:00
Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Adrian Sorin Costreie (Romania)
28 March 2023 Friendly Romania  0–0  Germany Sibiu, Romania
19:00 Report Stadium: Stadionul Municipal Sibiu
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Vidican Rareș (Romania)
21 June 2023 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Romania  0–3  Spain Bucharest, Romania
21:45 Report
Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 21,227
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)
24 June 2023 (2023-06-24) 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Romania  0–1  Ukraine Bucharest, Romania
19:00 Report Dican 89' (o.g.) Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Attendance: 14,309
Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark)
27 June 2023 (2023-06-27) 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Croatia  0–0  Romania Bucharest, Romania
21:45 Report Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
Referee: João Pinheiro (POR)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E matches against  Armenia and  Finland, on 13 and 17 October 2023.[1]

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals correct as of: 12 September, 2023, after the match against  Albania

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Otto Hindrich (2002-08-02) 2 August 2002 1 0 Romania CFR Cluj
1GK Răzvan Sava (2002-06-21) 21 June 2002 1 0 Romania CFR Cluj
1GK Alexandru Roșca (2003-11-12) 12 November 2003 0 0 Romania 1599 Șelimbăr
2DF Alexandru Pantea (2003-09-11) 11 September 2003 6 0 Romania FCSB
2DF Cristian Ignat (2003-01-29) 29 January 2003 1 0 Romania Mioveni
2DF Matei Ilie (2002-12-11) 11 December 2002 1 0 Romania CFR Cluj
2DF Răzvan Pașcalău (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 0 0 Italy Lecce
2DF Costin Amzăr (2003-07-11) 11 July 2003 0 0 Romania Dinamo București
2DF Darius Oroian (2003-08-01) 1 August 2003 0 0 Romania Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
2DF Ștefan Ștefanovici (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 0 0 Romania Politehnica Iași
2DF Gabriel Buta (2002-01-29) 29 January 2002 0 0 Romania FC U Craiova
3MF Octavian Popescu (2002-12-27) 27 December 2002 11 1 Romania FCSB
3MF Ștefan Baiaram (2002-12-31) 31 December 2002 8 1 Romania Universitatea Craiova
3MF Constantin Grameni (2002-10-23) 23 October 2002 8 1 Romania Farul Constanța
3MF Marius Corbu (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 8 1 Hungary Puskás Akadémia
3MF Rareș Ilie (2003-04-19) 19 April 2003 4 0 Switzerland Lausanne-Sport
3MF Cătălin Vulturar (2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 1 0 Italy Lecce
3MF Luca Mihai (2003-10-11) 11 October 2003 0 0 Romania CFR Cluj
3MF Aurelian Ciuciulete (2003-04-04) 4 April 2003 0 0 Romania Unirea Dej
3MF Ștefan Pănoiu (2002-09-23) 23 September 2002 0 0 Romania Rapid București
4FW Louis Munteanu (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 7 0 Romania Farul Constanța
4FW Adrian Mazilu (2005-09-13) 13 September 2005 4 0 Romania Farul Constanța
4FW Rareș Burnete (2004-01-31) 31 January 2004 1 0 Italy Lecce
4FW Filip Ilie (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 0 0 Romania Universitatea Cluj

Recent call-ups

Players born in or after 2002 are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players have also been called up in the past to the Romania under-21 squad and remain eligible to play in the qualification matches for 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Alexandru Borbei (2003-06-27) 27 June 2003 0 0 Italy Lecce v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
GK Robert Popa (2003-03-05) 5 March 2003 2 0 Romania FC U Craiova v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Andrei Borza WD (2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 2 1 Romania Rapid București v.  Armenia, 13 October 2023
DF Ümit Akdağ (2003-10-06) 6 October 2003 0 0 Turkey Göztepe v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
DF Dan Sîrbu (2003-04-22) 22 April 2003 0 0 Romania Farul Constanța v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
DF Andrei Coubiș (2003-09-29) 29 September 2003 1 0 Italy Milan v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Radu Drăgușin (2002-02-03) 3 February 2002 9 0 Italy Genoa v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Daniel Bîrzu (2002-05-28) 28 May 2002 2 0 Romania Farul Constanța v.  Slovakia, 7 June 2022
MF Cătălin Cîrjan INJ (2002-12-01) 1 December 2002 1 0 Romania Rapid București v.  Armenia, 13 October 2023
MF Ovidiu Perianu (2002-04-16) 16 April 2002 1 0 Romania Universitatea Cluj v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
MF Rareș Pop (2005-06-14) 14 June 2005 1 0 Romania UTA Arad v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
MF Robert Filip (2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 1 0 Romania CFR Cluj v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
MF Marian Danciu (2002-04-24) 24 April 2002 0 0 Romania Universitatea Craiova v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
MF Alexi Pitu INJ (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 9 0 France Bordeaux v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
FW Ianis Stoica (2002-12-08) 8 December 2002 8 1 Romania Universitatea Cluj v.  Slovakia, 7 June 2022
Notes
  • INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
  • SUS = Player is serving suspension
  • WD = Player withdrew from the squad
  • COV = Player withdrawn from the squad due to positive COVID-19 test
  • Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team.

Coaching staff
As of September 2022.[2]
Role Name
Head Coach Romania Daniel Pancu
Assistant Coaches Romania Nicolae Grigore
Romania Adrian Boingiu
Goalkeeping Coach Romania Eugen Anghel
Fitness Coach Romania Silviu Ioniță
Video Analyst Romania Vlad Munteanu
Physioterapists Romania Adrian Mîrza
Romania Andrei Bogatan
Romania Mădălin Talpalaru
Romania Valentin Șerban
Romania Dragoș Paraschiv

See also

Footnotes

    References
    1. https://www.frf.ro/recomandate/lotul-romaniei-u21-pentru-meciurile-cu-armenia-si-finlanda-din-grupa-de-calificare-pentru-euro-2025/
    2. "Mirel Rădoi şi-a completat staff-ul cu încă un antrenor secund". Digi Sport (in Romanian). 15 January 2020.
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