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
CaptainLouis Munteanu
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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Switzerland 6 4 2 0 16 6 +10 14 Final tournament — 2–2 11 Oct '24 6 Sep '24 4–2 5–0
2  Romania 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 Play-offs 15 Oct '24 — 1–0 5–0 6 Sep '24 2–0
3  Finland 6 3 1 2 13 5 +8 10 1–2 10 Sep '24 — 4–1 15 Oct '24 6–0
4  Albania 7 3 1 3 9 15 −6 10 1–3 3–2 0–0 — 2–0 15 Oct '24
5  Montenegro 5 1 1 3 4 8 −4 4 10 Sep '24 11 Oct '24 1–2 21 Nov — 0–0
6  Armenia (E) 8 0 2 6 1 17 −16 2 0–0 0–1 6 Sep '24 1–2 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2023
24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) Friendly Romania  0–2  Portugal Bucharest, Romania
UTC+02:00
  • Sousa 24'
  • Neto 36'
 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
Attendance: 7,816
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
12 September 2023 (2023-09-12) 2025 UEFA Q Albania  3–2  Romania Elbasan, Albania
18:30 C. Shpendi 63'
Berisha 71'
Pajaziti 88'		 Report Grameni 47'
Borza 58'		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 713
Referee: Bulat Saryev (Kazakhstan)
13 October 2023 (2023-10-13) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  2–0  Armenia Bucharest, Romania
20:30 Vulturar 37'
Baiaram 80'		 Report Stadium: Rapid-Giulești
Attendance: 2,346
Referee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)
17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  1–0  Finland Sibiu, Romania
18:00 M. Ilie 90+8' Report Stadium: Municipal
Attendance: 7,654
Referee: Luka Bilbija (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  5–0  Albania Bucharest, Romania
19:30 Munteanu 7' (pen.)
M. Ilie 15'
R. Ilie 37'
Grameni 55'
Danciu 86'		 Report Stadium: Rapid-Giulești
Attendance: 2,234
Referee: Matthew De Gabriele (Malta)
21 November 2023 (2023-11-21) 2025 UEFA Q Switzerland  2–2  Romania Neuchâtel, Switzerland
18:30 Sanches 23'
Dos Santos Correia 88'		 Report R. Ilie 11'
Grameni 32'		 Stadium: Maladière
Attendance: 5,359
Referee: Dominik Stary (Czech Republic)

2024
26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) 2025 UEFA Q Armenia  0–1  Romania Armavir, Armenia
15:00 Report C. Mihai 89' Stadium: Armavir
Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak (Poland)
6 September 2024 (2024-09-06) 2025 UEFA Q Romania  –  Montenegro TBA, Romania
TBA Stadium: TBA

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E match against  Armenia on March 26, 2024.[1]

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

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against  Armenia

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Răzvan Sava (2002-06-21) 21 June 2002 6 0 Romania CFR Cluj
12 1GK Otto Hindrich (2002-08-02) 2 August 2002 1 0 Romania CFR Cluj
1GK Alexandru Roșca (2003-11-12) 12 November 2003 0 0 Romania 1599 Șelimbăr
6 2DF Matei Ilie (2002-12-11) 11 December 2002 6 2 Romania CFR Cluj
3 2DF Cristian Ignat (2003-01-29) 29 January 2003 6 0 Romania Mioveni
4 2DF Costin Amzăr (2003-07-11) 11 July 2003 3 0 Romania Dinamo București
2DF Ümit Akdağ (2003-10-06) 6 October 2003 2 0 Turkey Göztepe
13 2DF Ștefan Ștefanovici (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 1 0 Romania Politehnica Iași
17 2DF Darius Oroian (2003-08-01) 1 August 2003 1 0 Romania Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
5 3MF Gabriel Dănuleasă (2003-05-08) 8 May 2003 0 0 Romania Farul Constanța
18 2DF David Maftei (2004-07-12) 12 July 2004 0 0 Romania Steaua București
8 3MF Constantin Grameni (2002-10-23) 23 October 2002 13 3 Romania Farul Constanța
10 3MF Marius Corbu (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002 12 1 Hungary Puskás Akadémia
11 3MF Ștefan Baiaram (2002-12-31) 31 December 2002 10 2 Romania Universitatea Craiova
7 3MF Ianis Stoica (2002-12-08) 8 December 2002 8 1 Romania FC Hermannstadt
19 3MF Rareș Ilie (2003-04-19) 19 April 2003 7 2 Switzerland Lausanne-Sport
15 3MF Cătălin Vulturar (2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 6 1 Romania UTA Arad
20 3MF Alexandru Musi (2004-07-17) 17 July 2004 2 0 Romania Petrolul Ploiești
21 3MF Cristian Mihai (2004-09-23) 23 September 2004 1 1 Romania UTA Arad
16 3MF Luca Mihai (2003-10-11) 11 October 2003 1 0 Romania Politehnica Iași
3MF Andrei Pandele (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 0 0 Romania FCSB
9 4FW Louis Munteanu (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 11 1 Romania Farul Constanța
14 4FW Rareș Burnete (2004-01-31) 31 January 2004 3 0 Italy Lecce

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 1 0 Romania FC U Craiova v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Alexandru Pantea (2003-09-11) 11 September 2003 10 0 Romania FCSB v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
DF Gabriel Buta (2002-01-29) 29 January 2002 0 0 Romania FC U Craiova v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
DF Răzvan Pașcalău (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 0 0 Italy Lecce v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
DF Andrei Borza (2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 4 1 Romania Rapid București v.  Armenia, 13 October 2023
DF Dan Sîrbu (2003-04-22) 22 April 2003 1 0 Romania Farul Constanța v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
DF Andrei Coubiș (2003-09-29) 29 September 2003 1 0 Italy AC Milan v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Radu Drăgușin (2002-02-03) 3 February 2002 9 0 England Tottenham Hotspur v.  Netherlands, 27 September 2022
DF Daniel Bîrzu (2002-05-28) 28 May 2002 1 0 Romania Viitorul Târgu Jiu v.  Slovakia, 7 June 2022
MF Octavian Popescu (2002-12-27) 27 December 2002 13 1 Romania FCSB v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
MF Ștefan Pănoiu (2002-09-23) 23 September 2002 1 0 Romania Universitatea Cluj v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
MF Aurelian Ciuciulete (2003-04-04) 4 April 2003 0 0 Romania Unirea Dej v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
MF Cătălin Cîrjan (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 Gloria Buzău 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 1 1 Romania Universitatea Craiova v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
MF Alexi Pitu (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 8 0 France Bordeaux v.  Albania, 12 September 2023
FW Adrian Mazilu (2005-09-13) 13 September 2005 7 0 Netherlands Vitesse Arnhem v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
FW Filip Ilie (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 1 0 Romania Universitatea Cluj v.   Switzerland, November 21, 2023
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/u21-spre-euro-2025-lotul-romaniei-u21-pentru-meciul-cu-armenia//
    2. "Mirel Rădoi şi-a completat staff-ul cu încă un antrenor secund". Digi Sport (in Romanian). 15 January 2020.
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