Romania national under-21 football team

Romania U-21

Nickname(s)	Tricolorii Mici (The Little Tricolours)
Association	Romanian Football Federation
Head coach	Cristian Dulca
Most caps	Ionuț Luțu (28)
Top scorer	Ionuț Luțu (15)
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
Appearances	1 (First in 1998)
Best result	Eighth in 1998

The Romania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.

The team is coached by former international Cristian Dulca and is usually captained by Pescara defender Deian Boldor.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, under-21 football teams in Europe were formed. The team is exclusively for football players that are age 21 or under at the start of the two-year campaign of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship meaning a player can represent the national team until the age of 23.

The best result achieved by the Romania U-21 squad is the qualification for the 1998 European Championship. Under the guidance of Victor Pițurcă and with a generation of players that included among others Bogdan Lobonț, Florentin Petre, Ionel Dănciulescu and Cătălin Munteanu, Romania U-21 finished the qualifying stage with maximum points after winning all eight games. Romania was then chosen as the host of the final stage. The squad was eliminated in the quarter-finals, being beaten by the Netherlands, 2-1.

The Romania under-21 team does not have a permanent home. The team plays in stadiums located all around Romania. Because of the smaller demand compared to the senior national team, smaller facilities are used. As of June 2015, the last three games have been played in Targu Mures.

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-Final	1	0	0	1	1	2		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
Total	1/18	1	0	0	1	1	2		140	69	25	46	211	156

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
Total	0/6	0 Titles	0	0	0	0	0	0		52	23	12	17	79	64

*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 2017

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	6	5	1	0	10	1	+9	16	Final tournament		—	6 Sep	0–0	1–0	11 Oct	2–0
2	Romania	7	4	1	2	10	9	+1	13	Possible Play-offs		0–3	—	2–1	0–2	2 Sep	3–0
3	Wales	7	3	3	1	10	6	+4	12			2 Sep	1–1	—	3–1	6 Sep	2–1
4	Bulgaria	7	3	2	2	8	4	+4	11			7 Oct	11 Oct	0–0	—	3–0	2–0
5	Luxembourg (X)	6	0	2	4	2	9	−7	2			0–1	0–1	1–3	0–0	—	7 Oct
6	Armenia (E)	7	0	1	6	5	16	−11	1			1–3	2–3	11 Oct	6 Sep	1–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2016. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (X) Cannot qualify directly as the top team, but may still qualify for the play-offs.

Players

Current squad

Players called up for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification games against Wales on 29 March 2016.

Caps and goals as of 29 March 2016.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Valentin Cojocaru	1 October 1995	11	0	Steaua București
	GK	Relu Stoian	1 March 1996	0	0	Berceni
	DF	Robert Hodorogea	24 March 1995	8	1	Viitorul Constanța
	DF	Bogdan Țîru (Captain)	15 March 1994	8	1	Voluntari
	DF	George Miron	28 May 1994	6	0	Botoșani
	DF	Ionuț Nedelcearu	25 April 1996	5	1	Dinamo București
	DF	Vlad Olteanu	21 March 1996	1	0	Dinamo București
	MF	Claudiu Bumba	5 January 1994	16	2	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	MF	Dorin Rotariu	29 July 1995	14	0	Dinamo București
	MF	Adrian Păun	1 April 1995	10	3	CFR Cluj
	MF	Florin Tănase	30 December 1994	8	3	Viitorul Constanța
	MF	Iulian Cristea	17 July 1994	5	0	Gaz Metan Mediaș
	MF	Ovidiu Popescu	27 February 1994	5	0	ACS Poli
	MF	Alexandru Ioniță	14 December 1994	4	1	Astra Giurgiu
	MF	Răzvan Marin	23 May 1996	4	0	Viitorul Constanța
	FW	George Pușcaș	8 April 1996	12	7	Bari
	FW	Alexandru Tudorie	19 March 1996	6	0	Steaua București
	FW	Andrei Ivan	4 January 1997	3	0	CSU Craiova
	FW	Mihai Voduț	28 July 1994	3	0	Voluntari

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	Laurențiu Brănescu	30 March 1994	12	0	Omonia Nicosia	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
GK	Bogdan Căucă	6 August 1996	0	0	Brașov	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
GK	Eduard Pap	1 July 1994	0	0	ACS Poli	v.  Armenia, 16 June 2015
GK	Răzvan Began	12 August 1996	0	0	CFR Cluj	v.  Cyprus, 31 March 2015
GK	Roland Niczuly	21 September 1995	0	0	Universitatea Cluj	v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
DF	Deian Boldor^INJ	3 February 1995	14	1	Virtus Lanciano	v.  Wales, 29 March 2016
DF	Cristian Manea	9 August 1997	9	0	Mouscron-Péruwelz	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
DF	Nicolae Vasile	29 December 1995	1	0	Rapid București	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
DF	Bogdan Mitache	1 January 1994	3	0	Viitorul Constanța	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
DF	Cosmin Achim	19 September 1995	1	0	Voluntari	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
DF	Alin Dobrosavlevici	24 October 1994	1	0	Academica Clinceni	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
DF	Mihai Bălașa	14 January 1995	10	2	Crotone	v.  Armenia, 8 September 2015
DF	Steliano Filip	15 May 1994	10	0	Dinamo București	v.  Armenia, 16 June 2015
DF	Ionuț Neag	18 February 1994	4	1	Universitatea Cluj	v.  Armenia, 16 June 2015
DF	Florin Anițoiu	25 April 1994	2	0	Metalul Reșița	v.  Cyprus, 31 March 2015
DF	Adrian Puțanu	9 January 1994	2	0	Brașov	v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
MF	Dragoș Nedelcu	16 February 1997	13	0	Viitorul Constanța	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
MF	Andreas Calcan	9 April 1994	4	0	Universitatea Cluj	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
MF	Andreas Ivan	10 January 1995	2	0	Stuttgarter Kickers	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
MF	Andrei Pițian	16 November 1995	2	0	Pandurii Târgu Jiu	v.  Wales, 17 November 2015
MF	Cătălin Ștefănescu	30 November 1994	3	0	Steaua București	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
MF	Rareș Enceanu	5 August 1994	2	0	Steaua București	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
MF	Silviu Balaure	6 February 1996	1	0	Baia Mare	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
MF	Szilard Vereș	27 January 1996	1	0	CFR Cluj	v.  Poland, 13 October 2015
MF	Alexandru Mitriță	8 February 1995	8	1	Pescara	v.  Armenia, 8 September 2015
MF	Sorin Tăbăcariu	23 July 1994	4	0	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț	v.  Armenia, 8 September 2015
MF	Doru Popadiuc	18 February 1995	5	0	Steaua București	v.  Cyprus, 31 March 2015
MF	Andrei Cerlincă	6 August 1995	2	0	Rapid București	v.  Cyprus, 31 March 2015
MF	Lucian Ion	10 March 1994	2	0	Concordia Chiajna	v.  Cyprus, 31 March 2015
MF	Ionuț Șerban	7 August 1995	4	0	Dinamo București	v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF	Cristian Bărbuț	22 April 1995	2	0	ACS Poli	v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF	Iulian Roșu	30 May 1994	2	0	Astra Giurgiu	v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
MF	Alexandru Dan	30 January 1994	6	0	Pandurii Târgu Jiu	v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
MF	Andrei Vaștag	21 March 1994	3	0	Viitorul Constanța	v.  Cyprus, 13 August 2013
FW	Cătălin Țîră	18 June 1994	3	1	Concordia Chiajna	v.  Armenia, 16 June 2015
FW	Valentin Balint	7 February 1994	2	0	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț	v.  Serbia, 13 November 2014
FW	Gabriel Iancu	15 April 1994	10	2	Kardemir Karabükspor	v.  Macedonia, 13 October 2014
FW	Alexandru Buziuc	15 March 1994	2	0	Gaz Metan Mediaș	v.  Germany, 9 September 2014

Notes

• ^INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
• Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team.

Coaching staff

Head coach	Cristian Dulca
Assistant coach	Florin Constantinovici
Physical coach	Matteo Spatafora

Results

Recent results within last 24 months and upcoming fixtures.

Date	Competition	Venue	Opponent	Result	Scorers
13 August 2014	Friendly	Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești	Italy	2–1	Pușcaș  30' Bălașa  44'
4 September 2014	EURO 2015 Q	Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest	Montenegro	4–3	Boldor  10' Pușcaș  67' Bumba  79' (pen.) Tănase  82'
9 September 2014	EURO 2015 Q	MDCC-Arena, Magdeburg	Germany	0–8
8 October 2014	Friendly	Stadionul Municipal, Buzău	Albania	3–1	Iancu  15' Neag  77' Tănase  83'
13 October 2014	Friendly	Philip II Arena, Skopje	Macedonia	1–2	Bălașa  69'
13 November 2014	Friendly	Belgrade	Serbia	1–0	Țîră  9'
26 March 2015	Friendly	Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș	Iceland	3–0	Pușcaș  9', 51' Mitriță  48'
31 March 2015	Friendly	Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș	Cyprus	1–0	Țîru  62'
16 June 2015	EURO 2017 Q	Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș	Armenia	3–0	Pușcaș  16' Păun  32' Tănase  90+2'
4 September 2015	EURO 2017 Q	Stadionul Trans-Sil, Târgu Mureș	Bulgaria	0–2
8 September 2015	EURO 2017 Q	FFA Academy Stadium, Yerevan	Armenia	3–2	Adrian Păun  35', 38' Pușcaș  60'
9 October 2015	EURO 2017 Q	Stade Municipal de la Ville de Differdange, Differdange	Luxembourg	1–0	Pușcaș  37'
13 October 2015	Friendly	Białystok City Stadium, Białystok	Poland	0–0
13 November 2015	EURO 2017 Q	Stadionul Marin Anastasovici, Giurgiu	Denmark	0–3
17 November 2015	EURO 2017 Q	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	Wales	1–1	Nedelcearu  2'
29 March 2016	EURO 2017 Q	Stadionul Gaz Metan, Mediaș	Wales	2–1	Hodorogea  37' Ioniță  58'

Former squads

• 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squads – Romania

See also

• Romania national football team
• Romania national under-20 football team
• Romania national under-19 football team
• Romania national under-17 football team
• European Under-21 Football Championship

External links

• UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
• FRF.ro