Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian national football team

  • Romania advances to EURO 2024 round of 16

    Romania advances to EURO 2024 round of 16

    “We’re not leaving”, thousands of Romanian football fans chanted in the stands on Wednesday after the Romanian national team qualified to the knock-out phase at the European Championship hosted by Germany. Much better rated teams than Romania, such as Croatia, Poland, Scotland or Serbia, have already gone home. At the same time, teams such as Georgia or Slovenia, ranked 74th and 57th respectively in world standings, also secured qualification. Romania achieved the notable performance of winning Group E, the most balanced of all EURO 2024 groups. All teams finished with the same number of points – 4 each, but only three advanced to the round of 16 owing to a better goal average: Romania, Belgium and Slovakia. Ukraine did not qualify, partly because of the severe 0-3 defeat to Romania in the first match. The Romanian side secured qualification after drawing 1-1 against Slovakia on Wednesday. Over 30 thousand Romanian fans colored the arena in Frankfurt yellow, and the team did not disappoint. The Romanian footballers displayed pragmatism, but also the same passion they showed from the start of the competition. Slovakia led 1-0 after the goal scored by Ondrej Duda on minute 24. Then Romania pressed the attack, and on minute 37, Ianis Hagi obtained a penalty kick. Răzvan Marin scored, and the two teams remained tied until full time. After the match, the Romanian national team headcoach, Edward Iordănescu, said:

     

     

    “I usually start by congratulating the boys, but this time I’ll start by bowing to the fans, the Romanians who came out for us. These are moments I think you experience just once in your lifetime. And we owe that to everyone here who made us feel at home and not just tonight, but for all the three matches. We thank those back home in Romania who, I’m sure, are now celebrating and are proud to call themselves Romanian. With regard to the boys, I am proud of them, I congratulate them from the bottom of my heart, I did the same after the game… I never stopped believing in them. Romania has talent, Romania has potential. Romania must have character and work hard. Romania has found its spirit, and we must hold on tight to that”.

     

     

    On Tuesday, the Romanian footballers will return to Munich to take on the Netherlands in the round of 16. Tickets for this game are still on sale, and fans are expected to come in large numbers on Allianz Arena to cheer for their team. Romania is not favorite to win the confrontation, but they are once again presented with the opportunity of achieving a historic performance that is sure to bring Romanians out in the streets again. (VP)

  • RRI Sports Club – Football

    RRI Sports Club – Football

     

    The Romanian football team has arrived in Germany, where it is set to make its debut next week at the European Championship. The Romanian delegation flew to Frankfurt on Monday, and from there it reached the city of Würzburg in Bavaria, which will be their main training spot for the next weeks. Tuesday saw the first official training in Germany on Würzburg stadium, attended by media representatives and some 3.500 fans. Of players still struggling with injuries, Andrei Burcă resumed full training, while Denis Alibec continued to train separately. Attending the press briefing after the training session was also defender Radu Drăgușin, currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur in England. Drăgușin called on Romanian fans to cheer for Romania in large numbers.

     

     

    Romania will play its first match at EURO 2024 on Monday afternoon against Ukraine. Serhiy Rebrov’s team is favorite to win, having a stronger offense that can put any defense in difficulty. The team’s star players are Mykhailo Mudryk, currently playing for Chelsea, as well as Artem Dovbyk from Girona, who was the top scorer last season in La Liga.

     

     

    Then, on June 22, Romania will take on Belgium in Köln. Coached by Domenico Tedesco, Belgium is ranked 3rd in FIFA standings. Belgium will not be able ro rely on a number of top players in the defense line, adding to which is the absence of Belgium’s greatest goalkeeper in recent years, Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, who is currently in open conflict with Tedesco.

    Romania’s next match at the European Championship will be on June 26 in Frankfurt against Slovakia. Slovakia’s biggest asset is its robust defense, which includes a number of worldlcass players. Slovakia’s star players are its central defenders, David Hancko of Feynoord and Milan Skriniar of PSG, both rated with 30-mln-EUR fees on the transfer market.  (VP)

  • Athlete of the Week on RRI – Footballer George Puscas

    Athlete of the Week on RRI – Footballer George Puscas

    Romanian footballer George Puscas
    had a stellar performance in the match pitting his team Reading against Wigan
    in the second English league. Puscas scored a hattrick in the game his club won
    3-1. Joe Garner scored the first goal for the home side on minute 34. Puscas
    made it 1-all on minute 79, scoring from penalty kick. A minute later he scored
    again, and on minute 84 he scored to make it 3-1 for Reading. For his remarkable
    performance, we have designated George Puscas Athlete of the Week on RRI.
    George Puscas this Monday was also designated Footballer of the Year 2019 at
    the Romanian Football Gala.


    George Puscas was born on April 8,
    1996 in Marghita, Bihor County, northwestern Romania, close to the Hungarian
    Border. He started to play football for a local club, Liberty Oradea. It was
    there that he was scouted by Internazionale Milano, who bought Puscas for 600
    thousand euros. Puscas completed a training with the club’s under-18 team, and
    then the club board moved him to the A team, although he spent a lot of time as
    a substitute. He was on loan to Bari for a season, and was close to securing
    promotion to Serie A. Inter then loaned Puscas to Benevento, a team which this
    time secured promotion to the first Italian league. He then played for Novara
    in Serie B. Inter then transferred Puscas to Palermo in Serie B, for a
    3-million-euro fee. After the team was relegated to the fourth-tier league,
    Inter bought back Puscas and transferred him to Reading in Premier League for
    an overall 10-million-euro fee, marking the most expensive transfer ever made
    by the English club. And Puscas was worth every penny. This season he scored 6
    goals.


    George Puscas has 14 caps for the
    Romanian national team, scoring 6 goals. He made his debut in May 2018, in a
    friendly against Chile. On November 17, 2018 he scored his first goal for
    Romania in Ploiesti, in the 3-nil win against Lithuania in Nations League.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Athlete of the Week on RRI – Footballer George Puscas

    Athlete of the Week on RRI – Footballer George Puscas

    Romanian footballer George Puscas
    had a stellar performance in the match pitting his team Reading against Wigan
    in the second English league. Puscas scored a hattrick in the game his club won
    3-1. Joe Garner scored the first goal for the home side on minute 34. Puscas
    made it 1-all on minute 79, scoring from penalty kick. A minute later he scored
    again, and on minute 84 he scored to make it 3-1 for Reading. For his remarkable
    performance, we have designated George Puscas Athlete of the Week on RRI.
    George Puscas this Monday was also designated Footballer of the Year 2019 at
    the Romanian Football Gala.


    George Puscas was born on April 8,
    1996 in Marghita, Bihor County, northwestern Romania, close to the Hungarian
    Border. He started to play football for a local club, Liberty Oradea. It was
    there that he was scouted by Internazionale Milano, who bought Puscas for 600
    thousand euros. Puscas completed a training with the club’s under-18 team, and
    then the club board moved him to the A team, although he spent a lot of time as
    a substitute. He was on loan to Bari for a season, and was close to securing
    promotion to Serie A. Inter then loaned Puscas to Benevento, a team which this
    time secured promotion to the first Italian league. He then played for Novara
    in Serie B. Inter then transferred Puscas to Palermo in Serie B, for a
    3-million-euro fee. After the team was relegated to the fourth-tier league,
    Inter bought back Puscas and transferred him to Reading in Premier League for
    an overall 10-million-euro fee, marking the most expensive transfer ever made
    by the English club. And Puscas was worth every penny. This season he scored 6
    goals.


    George Puscas has 14 caps for the
    Romanian national team, scoring 6 goals. He made his debut in May 2018, in a
    friendly against Chile. On November 17, 2018 he scored his first goal for
    Romania in Ploiesti, in the 3-nil win against Lithuania in Nations League.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • June 7, 2019

    June 7, 2019

    IMF -
    The delegation of IMF officials today presented the conclusions of their annual
    assessment of Romania’s economy. IMF experts argue that, while Romania’s
    consumption-based economic growth remains strong, contributing to reducing development
    gaps, macroeconomic imbalances have deepened, while the current account and fiscal
    deficits have gone up, together with inflation pressure. The head of the IMF
    delegation to Romania Jaewoo Lee pointed out that unless policies are changed,
    progress in the field of convergence will be affected, with pensioners and poor
    people feeling the effects. The IMF official said a more balanced mix of
    policies is needed, that should start with fiscal consolidation, strengthening monetary
    policy and greater flexibility for the exchange rate, in addition to increased predictability
    and improved governance. Right now Romania has no ongoing agreement with the
    IMF, although the Fund is every year monitoring the evolution of Romanian
    economy. International financial institutions estimate Romania’s economy will
    report an economic growth below 4% in 2019.

    JHA -
    Romanian Interior Minister Carmen Dan is today chairing the Justice and Home
    Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, held on the sidelines of the Romanian
    Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In the home affairs section
    the Council will propose concrete measures to manage migration, including the
    adoption of regulations for the creation of the Migration and Asylum Fund.
    Regarding the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria, Minister Dan said
    there is consensus at the level of the JHA. Also today, Minister Dan is
    attending the signing of the new Europol- FRONTEX joint action plan, in the
    presence of Europol executive director Catherine de Bolle, FRONTEX executive
    director Fabrice Leggeri and EU Commissioners Dimitris Avramopoulos and Julian
    King.

    UN – Foreign
    Minister Teodor Melescanu is today taking part in the round of election on the
    sidelines of the UN Security Council, where Romania is running for a
    non-permanent seat in the 2020-2021 tenure. The UN General Assembly is today
    electing by secret vote the five new non-permanent members of the Security
    Council. The Security Council consists of 15 member countries and is the
    strongest UN body and the only one to sanction warfare actions at global level.
    It comprises five permanent members with veto rights: the United States,
    Russia, China, France and Great Britain, and another 10 members elected for two
    years and who are replaced by countries from the same geographic region upon
    the expiry of their term in office. Next year another 5 members will be
    elected, two from Africa, one from the Asia-Pacific region, one from Latin
    America and the Caribbean and one from Eastern Europe. To earn a seat in the UN
    Security Council, a country must gather the support of two thirds of General
    Assembly members, tantamount to 129 of the total 193 votes in the General
    Assembly.

    BREXIT -
    Theresa May is today expected to officially resign as leader of the
    Conservative Party and as British Prime Minister after her failure to persuade
    the Chamber of Commons to vote the Brexit agreement with the European Union,
    which led to postponing Brexit until October 31. May will continue to serve as
    Prime Minister until her replacement is appointed by the end of July, the
    Conservative Party has announced. The official campaign for appointing a new
    Prime Minister will start on Monday. A total of 11 Conservative candidates are
    vying to become UK’s next Prime Minister.

    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national
    football team is today playing Norway away from home in the 2020 European
    Championship preliminaries. On Monday, Romania will play Malta, also away from
    home. In the first two games in March, Romania lost to Sweden 1-2 away from
    home and won 4-1 against the Faeroe Islands at home. The first two teams in
    each group will advance to the final tournament. The draw for the 2020
    championship will take place in Bucharest on November 30. Romania’s capital
    city will host four matches, three in the group phase and one in the round of
    16. We recall Romania’s under-21 team will this month play in the European
    Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino in Group C, alongside England,
    France and Croatia.
    (Translated by V. Palcu)