Romania's preparations for UEFA EURO 2008T suffered a setback in Tel-Aviv as Omer Golan's first-half goal gave Israel victory against opponents who played most of the match with ten men. Victor Piturca's side have been drawn alongside France, Italy and the Netherlands in Group C at this summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland, and the coach had been keen to emphasise the importance of this game as "a very important test". However, Romania's hopes were dented in the 22nd minute when midfielder Ovidiu Petre was red-carded following an incident involving Tamir Cohen. The visitors had tasted defeat only once in 12 qualifying fixtures, finishing three points above the Netherlands to win Group G, but fell behind three minutes after Petre's dismissal. Golan scored what proved to be the only goal, turning in Cohen's header across the penalty area from Moshe Ohayon's corner to put Israel in control of an entertaining, fast-paced encounter. The hosts came close to exploiting their numerical advantage further with several presentable opportunities. Liverpool FC midfielder Yossi Benayoun was at the heart of much of their best work and created numerous openings for his colleagues. Romania struggled to break down a disciplined and determined Israel rearguard, although they did threaten through Ciprian Marica who twice went close with first-half headers, while Adrian Mutu struck the crossbar.

Romania beat fellow UEFA EURO 2008 contenders Russia 3-0 in a friendly in Bucharest on Wednesday with goals from strikers Ciprian Marica, Daniel Niculae and Marius Niculae. Romania initially struggled against a team drawn entirely from the Russian Premier-Liga and it took the hosts until the stroke of half-time to break the deadlock through VfB Stuttgart forward Marica. Coach Victor Pițurcă took off Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu at the break and substitute Daniel Niculae made it 2-0 after 61 minutes before Marius Niculae completed the scoring with a header in the 76th. In contrast to Guus Hiddink - who handed first caps to FC Moskva striker Roman Adamov and the versatile FC Zenit St. Petersburg player Roman Shirokov - Pițurcă had virtually a full deck to choose from, although Marius Popa did feature in goal for the first time as regular No1 Bogdan Lobonț was unwell. The 29-year-old custodian had to be alert to deny Vladimir Bystrov following a rapid Russia counterattack, yet Romania gradually imposed their authority and took the lead when Marica teased his way past three defenders before placing the ball in the far corner. Russia might have equalised immediately had Bystov connected with an inviting cross from danger man Yuri Zhirkov, but that was about as good as it got for Hiddink's men. Romania found the target twice more without reply after half-time. Vasili Berezutski needlessly conceded possession for the first of those strikes, scored by Daniel Niculae, before namesake Marius - having just hit the woodwork along with Răzvan Cociș - headed in the second from Bănel Nicoliță's right-wing centre.

The Romanian football team has defeated Montenegro, score 4-0 (1-0), in a game played on Saturday evening in Bucharest's Steaua stadium. This was the last test match ahead of the Euro 2008. The Romanian players had a successful test, winning by a significant goal difference, with the goals being scored by Adrian Mutu (15th minute), Sorin Ghionea (49th minute) and Nicolae Dica (55th and 59th minutes). The score, but most importantly our team's performance in the second half, gives us hope for an honorable performance in the Euro tournament. The game against Montenegro started off unexpectedly for our players, with the visitors having a goal scoring chance after Tamas pulled Vucinic inside the box 40 seconds into the game. The same Vucinic executed the penalty shot, but the shot was palmed away by goalkeeper Lobont. In the 15th minute Chivu's pass found Mutu at the edge of the box, Mutu turned and shot at the far post, thus opening the score. In the 24th minute Vucinic missed a huge goal scoring chance, unable to send the ball in after dribbling goalkeeper Lobont. At half time coach Piturca sent in several substitutes that energized our team's game, the national team scoring twice in the first ten minutes of the second half. Ghionea scored his first goal for the national team in the 49th minute, heading the ball in after Florentin Petre's corner kick. Romania went two goals ahead. Daniel Niculae centered the ball in the box from where Dica scored a sensational goal, sending the ball over the goalkeeper and towards the far post. Score 3-0 in the 55th minute. Dica scored again in the 69th minute, sending the ball in from 25 meters to make 4-0. The national team leaves for Switzerland today. As part of Group C in the Euro 2008 final tournament, Romania will play against France on June 9 in Zurich, against Italy on June 13 also in Zurich, and against the Netherlands on June 17 in Bern.

Statements after the game
Victor Piturca, the head coach of the Romanian national team, has expressed his discontent with Romania's performance in the game against Montenegro, despite the fact that the team prevailed in the last test match ahead of Euro 2008, score 4-0. "Although there was a four-goal difference, I am not pleased with the game. In the first half the opponents had plenty of goal scoring chances, and that should not be repeated in the Euro tournament", Piturca has stated after the game. "Montenegro is not a weak team. I believe it is a good team but they did not play together for long and that is visible in the team's game. They gave us a lot of headaches, they missed a penalty shot and several goal scoring chances. Montenegro is a team that is about to be formed and for us it was just a training match with access for fans, a friendly game, it is good that all of the players are healthy after this game and that we had a pretty good game", Piturca said. "The Montenegrins reached our box far too easily, despite the fact that before the game I talked with the players about Vucinic's fast movement", Piturca explained. In turn, Zoran Filipovic, the head coach of Montenegro said that Romania's national team had proved its value. "Winning this game at goal difference ahead of the EURO tournament was good for Romania. It has showed the value we knew. I wish it luck", Filipovic stated after the game. "The goal difference could have been even higher", Filipovic added.

Romania made a promising start to their UEFA EURO 2008 campaign, holding one of the tournament favourites, France, to a goalless draw at the Letzigrund Stadion in Group C. Victor Pițurcă's side, appearing in their first major finals for eight years, restricted Les Bleus to a handful of half-chances as the two-time European champions struggled to impose their quality on proceedings. Nicolas Anelka was guilty of missing the game's clearest opportunity when he headed Franck Ribéry's cross over in the first half, but with Thierry Henry confined to the substitutes' bench, Raymond Domenech's men lacked a cutting edge and rarely put the well-organised Romanians in serious difficulty. These teams boasted two of the meanest defensive records in qualifying and from the opening exchanges it was obvious the contest would be tight. France monopolised possession early on yet rarely threatened Bogdan Lobonț's goal as Mirel Rădoi, Răzvan Cociș and Cristian Chivu tenaciously closed down space in front of their back four. With Henry still not fully fit, Anelka and Karim Benzema started in attack for the first time, and both fired in wayward shots during a cagey first ten minutes. Daniel Niculae had been given the task of leading Romania's front line on his own and succeeded in posing problems to Lilian Thuram and William Gallas. In the 16th minute, the striker, who plays in France with AJ Auxerre, might have done better than drag his shot wide after Adrian Mutu's deft knockdown. The French response was instant, though, Claude Makelele releasing Florent Malouda through the middle, only for Lobonț to sprint off his line and deny the Chelsea FC winger. That would prove the only time the pacy France forwards got in behind Romania's canny defenders. Ribéry and Benzema began interchanging positions without much joy, although the FC Bayern München playmaker did lay on a golden chance for Anelka on 33 minutes. After playing a corner short, Ribéry's cross found the Chelsea striker unmarked but he headed over. Anelka vented his frustration four minutes later by blasting into the side-netting from an impossible angle, as Benzema's calls for a cross went unanswered. Both sides began the second period in more attack-minded fashion. Malouda was the first to threaten, bursting past Cosmin Contra but shooting over the crossbar, before Romania enjoyed their best spell. Chivu's influence was growing and when his slide-rule pass found Mutu, the ACF Fiorentina player was felled by Willy Sagnol on the edge of the box. But as the France fans held their breath, Mutu directed his free-kick disappointingly into the wall. Despite the attempts of the vocal Romanian supporters to suck the ball towards Grégory Coupet's goal, Les Bleus finished in the ascendancy. Ribéry's low centre from the right reached Benzema unmarked just inside the penalty area but his first-time shot was straight at Lobonț on 57 minutes. The Lyon youngster then miscued another right-footed attempt after latching on to Anelka's header. Bafétimbi Gomis and Samir Nasri were introduced for the closing stages, yet neither succeeded in making inroads, as Romania held firm until the very end.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon superbly saved Adrian Mutu's penalty with nine minutes remaining to keep the world champions' UEFA EURO 2008 hopes alive as the Azzurri and Romania battled out a breathless draw in Zurich. Buffon dived to his left to block the ACF Fiorentina striker's stinging drive with his arm and foot after Christian Panucci had held back Daniel Niculae in the area. Defeat would have left Italian ambitions on a knife-edge but in a free-flowing match they delivered a perfect response to Mutu's 55th-minute opener as Panucci levelled a minute later. It salvaged a crucial point, which kept Italy in Group C contention before their reprise of the FIFA World Cup final against France on Thursday when Romania play the Netherlands. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni made five changes to the side that lost to the Netherlands as he looked to rescue their campaign. Victor Pițurcă had more reason to be satisfied after a goalless draw with France, but still freshened up his midfield, with Florentin Petre and Paul Codrea coming in - the latter bringing experience of Italian football with AC Siena. Italy's reshuffled back line was tested in the first minute when Mutu nodded over and in an open game it was immediately clear that Romania were willing to commit more men forward than they had against France. Alessandro Del Piero made his first start since September and Italy's captain almost had an early impact when his header was deflected wide. Romania then created three excellent chances in the space of four minutes. Buffon saved brilliantly from Mutu, who had broken free down the left, then stretched to keep out a Gabriel Tamaș free-kick. The goalkeeper was beaten, however, when Cristian Chivu's long-range free-kick deflected off Panucci, but the ball bounced back off the post. Pițurcă's team were showing all the invention they had concealed against France and their coach, sensing the momentum was going their way, chose to withdraw the injured Mirel Rădoi for the forward-thinking Nicolae Dică on 25 minutes. Attack was dominating defence, with Romania's slick passing inviting fear in the Italy rearguard while Luca Toni was winning everything in the air at the other end, Bogdan Lobonț tipping one header over. AC Milan pair Massimo Ambrosini and Gennaro Gattuso had made way for Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta in Italy's midfield, yet their replacements were finding little joy against Chivu, who cut off the supply line down the centre. Mutu also continued to catch the eye, drawing a smart stop from Buffon before pouncing on Gianluca Zambrotta's weak back-header to fire his side in front ten minutes into the second period. The Romania fans were still celebrating when Italy hit back, Giorgio Chiellini heading a corner back across goal for Panucci to knock in. Lobonț had to touch away De Rossi's diving header as Italy pushed for a second goal, although it was Romania who had the best opportunity to win a breathtaking contest. Panucci was adjudged to have restricted Niculae with his arms in the area, allowing Mutu the chance to snatch what would have been a memorable victory. The Azzurri were staring defeat and possible elimination in the face but Buffon produced a dramatic diving save to his left to keep his team in the competition.

Romania knew three points would ensure they joined their opponents in the last eight, but Victor Pițurcă's side were always on the back foot and Huntelaar, having passed up one presentable opening in the first half, clinically guided in Ibrahim Afellay's teasing right-wing cross nine minutes into the second. The win was sealed for a largely second-string Oranje team with three minutes left as Van Persie drove in his second goal in as many games. With progress already assured following victories against Italy and France, Marco van Basten named a much-changed lineup with only Khalid Boulahrouz and Orlando Engelaar retaining their places. That was little relief for Romania, however, given that the reshuffle brought Arjen Robben, Van Persie and Huntelaar into the XI, and the Netherlands started the match showing their usual command of possession, Romania having to hector and hassle for every touch. Nonetheless, the best the Dutch had to offer in the early exchanges was an Engelaar shot from distance which Cristian Chivu bravely charged down. If the key to tackling Van Basten's side was to deny them space, it seemed Romania had found it with everyone chipping in to cut the Oranje supply lines. The Netherlands were not held entirely in check, as Van Persie headed wide from an Engelaar cross. Romania then threatened for the first time, Adrian Mutu collecting a throw-in and twisting and turning to work space only to pull his shot across the face of goal. Next, Boulahrouz got behind the Tricolorii back line on the right, cutting the ball back for Huntelaar, but the AFC Ajax striker lifted his effort over. Robben was soon guilty of a more glaring miss, running on to a Huntelaar flick only to nudge his attempt wide of Bogdan Lobonț's right-hand post. Paul Codrea may have been equally disappointed to have missed the target after Răzvan Raț's teasing pass from the left wrong-footed the Dutch defence as half-time approached. The Group C winners took up where they had left off after the interval and might have broken through within four minutes of the restart when a long ball found Van Persie with only Gabriel Tamaș for company. But while the Arsenal FC attacker spun his marker, Lobonț turned his low shot round the post brilliantly. The goalkeeper had no chance five minutes later, however, Afellay's ball from the right finding its way through a crowded penalty area for Huntelaar to guide in expertly. With news filtering through that Italy had taken a 2-0 lead against France, Romania's situation now looked desperate. Still unable to master possession, they continually found themselves on the defensive but while flying interceptions and timely challenges kept Pițurcă's men in contention, it was goals that were needed. Mutu set up substitute Florentin Petre for an overhead kick that looped over but for all their efforts, Romania were not to conjure up a second Miracle of Berne at the stadium that hosted West Germany's 1954 FIFA World Cup triumph, Van Persie underlining the class divide with the fiercely-struck second goal. The Netherlands will play either Sweden or Russia in the last eight in Basel on Saturday, while Romania finish in third position.

The Romanian national team defeated the representatives of Latvia with 1-0 on Wednesday, in a friendly match at Urziceni, the Romanians' last check before the debut in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. The first game of the qualifiers will offer Romania the chance to play with Lithuania on September 6, in the seventh day. The Romanians' goal was scored by Nicolae Dica, in the 51st minute, during a penalty kick. In the 51st minute, Banel Nicolita fell in the 16-metre box, after being faulted by the goalkeeper Kolinko, and the Norwegian referee Henning Ovrebo ordered an 11-metre penalty kick. Nicolae Dica, presently a player of the team Catania, was the one to score and to establish the result of the game. This was the debut game in the national team of the player Gabriel Paraschiv, aged 30, presently a member of Otelul Galati, used by the coach from the start of the competition. Also the 22-year-old attacker of the team Universitatea Craiova, Florin Costea, entered the game in the 73rd minute and thus attended his first game as a member of the national team trained by Victor Piturca. In the absence of Cristian Chivu and Adrian Mutu, the player Cosmin Contra, presently a member of the Spanish team Getafe, wore the armband of the team captain.

The Romanian national football team has started its qualification campaign for the World Cup 2010 with a failure, losing the game against Lithuania on Saturday, score 0-3 (0-1). The game counted for the first round of Group 7 games and was played in Cluj-Napoca. Although nothing could have foretold this defeat, with the statistics showing Romania as the winner of eight out of eight games against Lithuania, our team played extremely poor, reeling from the absence of Mutu, Chivu, Rat and Nicolita. The goals were scored by Stankevicius in the 31st minute, Mikoliunas in the 69th minute and Kalonas in the 87th minute. Stankevicius opened the score with a 25-meter shot that aimed for the far post. Romania almost equalized in the 45th minute when Nicolae Dica's free kick shook the cross bar. However the Lithuanians were the ones to score once more in the 69th minute when Mikoliunas' shot from the edge of the box defeated goalkeeper Lobont. The goal was applauded by the Romanian fans in Cluj-Napoca. Mikoliunas was also applauded when he was substituted. In the 87th minute Kalonas entered the box from the left wing and placed the ball just under the cross bar, thus setting the 3-0 score and registering the first victory that Lithuania has obtained in the history of games against Romania. Victor Piturca, the coach of Romania's national team, has assumed total responsibility for the failure. "We had a bad evening, we played poorly and this moment was inevitable. It was a categorical defeat and there is nothing to add. I am not upset with the players, I was a football player, I know what a moment like this means. Any team has gone through this. The responsibility is mine, that's that, we have to move on, there's nothing we can do", Piturca stated. Concerning the qualification campaign, Piturca stated that he is convinced that Lithuania will give headaches to the other qualification candidates too: "We started off on the wrong foot. I am convinced that Lithuania will go on to defeat other strong teams in the group, unfortunately we were the first and the other teams will take appropriate countermeasures". Referring to the fans that asked for Piturca's resignation at the end of the game, Mircea Sandu, the President of the Romanian Football Federation, has stated that for the time being the game against Faeroe Islands takes precedence. "We will play on Wednesday against the Faeroe Islands and we have to prepare for that game. Of course, we will meet afterwards. We won't talk about the resignation but about the things that we have to do in order for the team to play and qualify". The fans that were in the stands on Saturday evening asked for coach Victor Piturca's resignation and booed the players for their performance in Cluj-Napoca. Piturca was booed at the end of the first half while on his way towards the locker-rooms. The fans' patience started to run out after the 65th minute when Daniel Niculae was the first player to be booed after two botched passes. As the final whistle got closer the reactions against the players became more numerous, with the fans starting to chant "Resignation", "Shame on you", "Piti leave us be!" after Lithuania went two goals ahead. The Romanian fans applauded the Lithuanians' final two goals and also greeted the final whistle with applauses. "It was a shameful evening, to forget as soon as possible", a frustrated Cosmin Contra, who captained Romania for the first time, told reporters. Lithuania's Portuguese coach Jose Couceiro was delighted with his side's good attacking play and tight defence. "I told my players that we can do it against Romania, who did not have their best day", Couceiro said. "My players applied perfectly the tasks we established before the game... It's the perfect start for qualification for the World Cup finals, which we can now reach".

The Romanian national football team has defeated the Faroe Islands, score 1-0 (0-0) on Wednesday evening in Torshavn, the Group 7 game counting for the preliminaries of World Cup 2010. Razvan Cocis scored the only goal in the 59th minute of a dull game. At the end of the game Victor Piturca, the coach of the national team, expressed his pleasure with the result, pointing out that he would have liked to see the team score more. "During the game against Lithuania we had a lot of injured players too. Several other players have been injured since then, but the guys that were on the pitch today played a good, beautiful, spectacular game, with good passes. Too bad we did not manage to score more", Piturca stated. The coach pointed out that it was very hard for him to improve the morale of the players after the 3-0 loss in the game against Lithuania. "It was a terrible situation, but I think the guys surpassed that moment, we have set on a new path after this victory, despite the fact that it was a victory against a smaller team. The three points are what matters. We also wait for the results of the other group games and we look forward to next month's crucial game against France". Piturca expressed his concern that Mirel Radoi could have a torn muscle. "It would be serious because his club would no longer be able to use him in the important games that it is set to play, nor could the national team do so in the game against France", Piturca stated. Radoi has left the pitch injured in the 18th minute, being substituted by Sorin Ghionea. Piturca pointed out that he knows nothing about Adrian Mutu's refusal to play for the national team as long as he is the coach. "I don't think that could happen. I don't see the reason. If a player doesn't like me he could say it and that's that, but these are artificial problems. I have a very good relationship with the players, they're professionals, I lead the destinies of the national team and after all I am the one that came and qualified the team for a final tournament after 6 years, that is the truth and nobody can take that away from me", Piturca added. Although the coach expressed his satisfaction with the team's game, the same could not be said when it comes to other football people, the latter criticizing the team's performance and Victor Piturca's coaching. Former coach Emeric Ienei accuses Victor Piturca for the game against the Faroe Islands and considers that the national team goes through a slump unseen in the last 50 years. "That 3-0 defeat in the game against Lithuania was disappointing. I reached the conclusion that we are dependent on Mutu and Chivu, and we shouldn't be. What is going on? Without them Romania's team is finished? Faroe is similar to a League II team in Romania. I don't know whether the half time break was used to analyze the first half or to prepare the second one... In the last 50 years I don't believe we have had such a slum when it comes to the national team", Emeric Ienei stated. LPF President Dumitru Dragomir said that Romania's team "made a fool of itself" in the game against the Faroe Islands, with a League III team able to play better than the national team did. "Following this result poor Piturca is grasping at straws... It's good that the game turned out as it did because it was a poor game. A League III team could beat them. Faroe wouldn't be able to defeat the Romanian journalists' team. I will back Piturca until the game against France. If he won't win he would have to be changed. A draw would threaten our qualification", Dragomir stated.

The future of France coach Raymond Domenech was left hanging in the balance on Saturday after a spirited Romania took a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw with the 1998 World Cup winners. Florentin Petre and Dorin Goian scored a goal apiece in a dominant first half to leave the hosts with the advantage after Franck Ribery had managed to claw a goal back for "Les Bleus" in the 36th minute. It took until the 69th minute for France to draw level thanks to a stunning drive from Yoann Gourcuff, who chose arguably the best time to score his maiden international goal with a stunning 30-yarder. "I was worried in the first 15 minutes", admitted Domenech who had to shuffle his team when skipper Patrick Vieira was injured in the warm-up. "We had a few little worries especially because of the Vieira injury and the team was very young. But I liked the spirit we showed in the second half and we proved that we have a future in qualifying". Barcelona forward Thierry Henry and Bayern München striker Franck Ribery both spurned chances late in the second half, during which France appeared to find their rhythm after a conspicuously shaky first half. But on the face of their much stronger performance, Romania were unlucky not to steal all three points. After picking up a point each, the result will do little to boost the group hopes of either team. France and Romania both now have a paltry four points from three games. Domenech's future as coach of the 1998 World Cup winners has been in doubt since France exited this summer's European Championships after the first round. Calls for his head to roll gathered pace after France were stunned 3-1 by Austria in their opening World Cup qualifier, and the were maintained despite a 2-1 home defeat of Serbia. Prior to this match the general feeling on Domenech's future as coach was unequivocal: win, or else. But it took only five minutes, and some slack defending, for Romania to throw a spanner into the works. Domenech must have been wondering what was going on as Petre, left on his own just outside the penalty area, went unchallenged and met a cross that he drove past France keeper Steve Mandanda. Barely 10 minutes had passed before Goian handed the hosts a 2-0 lead after he rose beyond France defender Jean-Alain Boumsong to head a Petre corner past the beaten Mandanda. Bayern München striker Ribery managed to limit the damage, firing home a perfectly-weigted shot from a pass by Yoann Gourcuff. Domenech and his Romanian counterpart Victor Peturca made no changes for the second half, in which France appeared to finally find their feet. Nevertheless it took until the 69th minute for Les Bleus to put themselves within sight of a win, and they did so in style. This time Ribery turned provider for Gourcuff, who turned his marker superbly before unleashing an unbeatable dipping drive from near on 30 yards.

The Romanian national football team has defeated Georgia, score 2-1 (0-1), on Wednesday evening in a friendly game played in Bucharest's "Dinamo" stadium. Otar Martvaladze opened the score for Georgia in the 11th minute but Romania came back into the game and sealed it in the second half. Ciprian Marica (62nd minute) and Dorin Goian (70th minute) scored decisively for Romania. The game represented an occasion for 4 players to register their debut game for the national team, Pantilimon, Panin (who substituted injured Ogararu), Tanase and Ropotan. Valerica Gaman, summoned for the second time at the national team, was not used in the game. Victor Piturca, the head coach of the national team, has stated on Wednesday at the end of the friendly game against Romania that the impression that the team coached by Hector Raul Cuper is weak is erroneous. "It was a useful test and a successful test for us because I wanted to see a good performance. The result is also good, our victory was well deserved. We had to work a lot to overcome our defensive error in the first half. The important thing is that I used new players that have proven that they have what it takes to be part of the national team. The impression according to which the Georgian team is weak is erroneous if we look at the club that its members play for. I don't know if Georgia is weaker than Lithuania", Piturca stated. The game started with a moment of silence in the memory of the ones killed in the mining accident in Petrila. The Romanian players wore black banderols as a sign of mourning. The entire proceeds from the game will be donated to the victims of the mining tragedy. Unfortunately only 3.000 fans came to see the game.