Coach Edi Iordănescu had the first reaction after the draw that determined Romania's opponents in the League of Nations.
Edi Iordănescu, Romania's national team PHOTO: archive
Romania will play in the League of Nations against the national teams of Kosovo, Cyprus and Lithuania or Gibraltar.
The matches will be played in the fall, and the coach Edi Iordănescu has a contract with the national team until after Euro 2024.
“It is premature to hazard now in analyzes regarding the opponents. There are still good months, a summer transfer period that can change the situation of many players, both from our national team and from the opponents. It will matter a lot how and how our boys will play until the autumn, but also the footballers of our rivals in the group. There is only one thing for sure, Romania's objective must be first place, and that all the more since we are talking about an important chance, in parallel with the classic preliminaries, for a possible qualification to the play-off for the 2026 World Cup”transmitted Edi Iordănescu, according to frf.ro.
Iordănescu says that at the moment the maximum concentration is on Euro 2024, being worried about the situation that several important players of the national team have at clubs.
“The League of Nations can lead Romania to a barrier for participation in the World Cup in 2026, if we do not get the first two places in the group from the preliminaries. There will be 12 groups in the WC 2026 preliminaries, the winners qualify directly, the second places go to the play-off. 4 other Nations League teams will make it to the barrage for the World Cup, the best ranked from all 4 Leagues that did not get the direct qualification or the second place in the group from the preliminaries will be chosen. With teams from Leagues A and B highly likely to finish in the top two in the qualifiers, Romania must win their Nations League group to hope to reach the play-offs. Nations League matches will be played in September, October and November 2024“, writes gsp.ro.
