Our Euro 2024 Fantasy team previews continue with a profile of Romania.
In these country-by-country guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each nation, taking a stab at predicted line-ups, reviewing the road to Germany and more.
To do this, we’ll be calling on the help of correspondents from each nation.
Here, we hear from Fantasy Football Scout user Ovidiu Lucian (aka ovy_009 on X).
A recent addition to these team previews is a Premium Members section detailing the official Opta data from Euro ’24 qualification. This data has just arrived in our Members Area, so sign up today to gain access to the all-important stats you need for this summer’s Euro Fantasy game.
All prices given are from the official Fantasy Euro 2024 game.
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 22 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 11 | +11 | 17 |
| 3 | Israel | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | Belarus | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 12 |
| 5 | Kosovo | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| 6 | Andorra | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 20 | -17 | 2 |
To many people’s surprise, Romania topped their qualifying group by five points.
They finished the campaign unbeaten, winning six and drawing four, and secured their place at Euro 2024 after a 2-1 win against Israel last year. A few days later, they clinched top spot, courtesy of a 1-0 victory over second-placed Switzerland at the National Arena in Bucharest.
Romania’s defence was particularly impressive during qualifying.
Led by Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Radu Dragusin (€4.5m), they conceded just five goals in 10 games, while keeping six clean sheets.
In fact, only six teams had a better defensive record than Romania in Euro 2024 qualifying, highlighting their resilience at the back.
Meanwhile, Romania’s competition for second spot in Group E – which Belgium will likely win – comes from Slovakia and Ukraine.
QUALIFICATION IN NUMBERS
- Most starts: Andrei Burca, Radu Dragusin, Nicolae Stanciu (10)
- Most goals: Nicolae Stanciu, Denis Alibec, Valentin Mihaila (3)
- Most assists: Olimpiu Morutan (4), Ianis Hagi, Razvan Marin (2)
- Clean sheets: 6 from 10
UNDERLYING STATS
RECORD SINCE QUALIFYING
| Date | Competition | Opposition | Result | Score | Goalscorers | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March | Friendly | Northern Ireland (h) | D | 1-1 | Man | |
| 26 March | Friendly | Colombia (n) | L | 2-3 | Hagi, Tanase | Man |
| 4 June | Friendly | Bulgaria (h) | D | 0-0 | ||
| 7 June | Friendly | Liechtenstein | D | 0-0 |
Romania have failed to win any of their friendlies since qualifying for Euro 2024.
Last week, they failed to score a single goal against either Bulgaria or Liechtenstein, with both matches ending 0-0.
That’s despite racking up 35 shots on goal in the latter fixture, with 12 on target.
However, Romania lack a prolific goalscorer, something which was sometimes apparent in qualifying – they failed to score against Kosovo or Belarus away from home.
MOST RECENT INTERNATIONAL LINE-UPS
04/06/2024 – Bulgaria (h)
(4-2-3-1): Nita; Ratiu, Dragusin, Rus (Nedelcearu 69), Bancu (Mogos 69); R Marin, M Marin (Hagi 61); Man, Stanciu (Olaru 77), Mihaila (Coman 61); Dragus (Birligea 61)
07/06/2024 – Liechtenstein (h)
(4-1-4-1): Moldovan; Mogos (Bancu 58), Dragusin, Racovitan, Olaru (Dragus 76); Sut (M Marin 57); Sorescu, Cicaldau (Stanciu 58), Hagi (Man 65), Coman (Mihaila 65); Puscas
GROUP FIXTURES
- 17 June: Ukraine
- 22June: Belgium
- 26 June: Slovakia
HOW FAR WILL THEY GET?
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1 month, 16 days agoI’ve never been to Romania. Has anybody else? Do they have thermal baths?