Moldovan fans at the match with Romania // Photo: fmf.md
All goals were scored by Romanian national team players. Luis Munteanu opened the scoring on 12 minutes. Lilian Popescu’s side equalized seven minutes before the end of the first half after Ionut Radu cut the ball into his own net. The final score was set in the 44th minute, when Ianis Hadji struck the Moldovan team’s possession.
The meeting took place in Bucharest in the presence of 11.200 spectators. It was officiated by a team of referees from Malta and Slovenia, headed by Ishmael Barbara.
Lilian Popescu said after the match that there are many things that need to be improved, but the players playing in the national team have a great credit of confidence. “I want to congratulate the guys despite the loss. I saw in the stands many fans from Moldova, who traveled a long way to be at the match. I want to thank them and assure them that we will fight,” the specialist said in an interview with Moldova 1.
Romanian national team coach Mircea Lucescu, who before the match spoke about the inexpediency of the match with Moldova, praised the opponents. “I saw a very good team of the same guys who beat Poland, played draws with the Czech Republic and Austria. A well-organized and aggressive team,” he stressed and jokingly asked when the teams will play their next match.
The meeting with Romania was Popescu’s debut after his appointment as head coach of the Moldovan national team on September 16. The first official match with the new head coach will be held on October 14, when the national team will play away against Estonia in the European qualifying tournament for the World Cup-2026. In November, the national team will have two final matches of the cycle before the Mundial – against Italy and Israel, both to be held in Chisinau.
