Romania national under-21 football team

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.

UEFA European Under-21 Championship 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
1994									8	5	0	3	13	10
1996									10	4	4	2	17	10
1998	Quarter-finals	3	0	0	3	2	5		8	8	0	0	18	4
2000	did not qualify								8	3	3	2	10	8
2002									8	5	1	2	13	5
2004									8	2	1	5	6	7
2006									10	6	1	3	17	8
2007									2	1	0	1	4	5
2009									8	4	3	1	11	3
2011									10	8	1	1	23	6
2013									8	4	2	2	11	6
2015									8	3	3	2	14	19
2017									10	5	1	4	15	14
2019	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	10	7		10	7	3	0	19	4
2021	Group stage	3	1	2	0	3	2		10	6	2	2	22	7
2023		3	0	1	2	0	4		Qualified as hosts
2025		3	0	0	3	2	5		10	7	1	2	23	10
Total	5/25	16	3	4	9	17	23	170	94	32	54	291	191

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
1992	did not qualify									6	2	0	4	5	9
1996										10	4	4	2	17	10
2000										8	3	3	2	10	8
2004										8	2	1	5	6	7
2008										2	1	0	1	4	5
2012										10	8	1	1	23	6
2016										8	3	3	2	14	19
2020	Group Stage	11th	3	1	1	1	4	7		14	9	4	1	29	11
2024	did not qualify									3	0	1	2	0	4
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 Championship.

***Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	7	7	0	0	26	2	+24	21	Final tournament		—	2–1	6 Oct	2–0	3–0	7–0
2	Finland	7	5	1	1	26	2	+24	16	Final tournament or Play-offs		25 Sep	—	2–0	0–0	3–0	7–0
3	Romania	7	4	1	2	8	4	+4	13			0–2	30 Sep	—	0–0	2–0	3–0
4	Kosovo	7	2	2	3	12	6	+6	8			1–3	6 Oct	0–1	—	30 Sep	7–0
5	Cyprus (E)	7	1	0	6	5	24	−19	3			0–7	0–5	25 Sep	0–4	—	6 Oct
6	San Marino (E)	7	0	0	7	0	39	−39	0			30 Sep	0–8	0–2	25 Sep	0–5	—

The following is a list of matches in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

Romania  v  Georgia

4 June 2025 (2025-06-04) Friendly	Romania	1–0	Georgia	Vorau, Austria
19:30	Borza 72'	Report		Stadium: Urkraft Arena

Italy  v  Romania

11 June 2025 (2025-06-11) 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage	Italy	1–0	Romania	Trnava, Slovakia
22:00	Baldanzi 26'	Report		Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium Attendance: 2,450 Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)

Spain  v  Romania

14 June 2025 (2025-06-14) 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage	Spain	2–1	Romania	Bratislava, Slovakia
19:00	Jauregizar 85' Fernández 88'	Report	Munteanu 4'	Stadium: Tehelné pole Attendance: 10,023 Referee: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)

Romania  v  Slovakia

17 June 2025 (2025-06-17) 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage	Romania	1–2	Slovakia	Bratislava, Slovakia
22:00	Akdağ 67'	Report	Obert 11' Suslov 57'	Stadium: Tehelné pole Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)

Romania  v  Kosovo

5 September 2025 (2025-09-05) 2027 UEFA Q	Romania	0–0	Kosovo	Iași, Romania
18:30 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Emil Alexandrescu Stadium Attendance: 8,565 Referee: Mehmet Türkmen (Turkey)

San Marino  v  Romania

9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2027 UEFA Q	San Marino	0–2	Romania	Serravalle, San Marino
21:30 UTC+3		Report	Biliboc 11' Trică 87'	Stadium: San Marino Stadium Attendance: 354 Referee: Antoine Chiaramonti (Andorra)

Romania  v  Serbia

10 October 2025 (2025-10-10) Friendly	Romania	0–1	Serbia	Arad, Romania
19:00 UTC+3		Report	Kuljanin 79'	Stadium: Francisc von Neuman Stadium

Romania  v  Cyprus

14 October 2025 (2025-10-14) 2027 UEFA Q	Romania	2–0	Cyprus	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:00 UTC+3	Trică 4' Burnete 74'	Report		Stadium: Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Stadium Attendance: 5,831 Referee: Ladislav Szikszay (Czech Republic)

Finland  v  Romania

14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 UEFA Q	Finland	2–0	Romania	Turku, Finland
17:00 UTC+2	Ruoppi 23' Siltanen 73' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Kupittaa Football Stadium Attendance: 1,503 Referee: Dario Bel (Croatia)

Romania  v  Spain

18 November 2025 (2025-11-18) 2027 UEFA Q	Romania	0–2	Spain	Sibiu, Romania
19:00 UTC+2		Report	G. García 17' Fresneda 53'	Stadium: Sibiu Municipal Stadium Attendance: 9,732 Referee: Matteo Marchetti (Italy)

Kosovo  v  Romania

27 March 2026 (2026-03-27) 2027 UEFA Q	Kosovo	0–1	Romania	Pristina, Kosovo
20:00 UTC+2		Report	Vermeșan 66'	Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Attendance: 13,980 Referee: Iwan Griffith (Wales)

Romania  v  San Marino

31 March 2026 (2026-03-31) 2027 UEFA Q	Romania	3–0	San Marino	Târgoviște, Romania
19:00 UTC+2	Musi 43', 58' Mazilu 63'	Report		Stadium: Eugen Popescu Stadium Attendance: 1,755 Referee: Artem Gasparyan (Armenia)

Cyprus  v  Romania

25 September 2026 (2026-09-25) 2027 UEFA Q	Cyprus	v	Romania	Cyprus
		Report

Romania  v  Finland

30 September 2026 (2026-09-30) 2027 UEFA Q	Romania	v	Finland	Romania
		Report

Spain  v  Romania

6 October 2026 (2026-10-06) 2027 UEFA Q	Spain	v	Romania	Spain
		Report

The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group A matches against Kosovo and San Marino on 27 and 31 March 2026 respectively.

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

Caps and goals are correct as of 31 March 2026, after the match against San Marino

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ștefan Lefter	(2004-11-18) 18 November 2004 (age 21)	7	0	Universitatea Cluj
12	1GK	Rafael Munteanu	(2006-03-01) 1 March 2006 (age 20)	1	0	Farul Constanța
23	1GK	Adrian Frănculescu	(2005-02-28) 28 February 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Steaua București
11	2DF	Andrei Borza	(2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 (age 20)	16	2	Rapid București
3	2DF	Matteo Duțu	(2005-11-23) 23 November 2005 (age 20)	11	0	Dinamo București
6	2DF	Mario Tudose	(2005-01-21) 21 January 2005 (age 21)	7	0	FC Argeș
2	2DF	David Maftei	(2004-07-12) 12 July 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Farul Constanța
16	2DF	Mark Țuțu	(2004-01-02) 2 January 2004 (age 22)	3	0	UTA Arad
4	2DF	Lisav Eissat	(2005-01-13) 13 January 2005 (age 21)	2	0	Maccabi Haifa
	2DF	Ionuț Pop	(2004-02-12) 12 February 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Concordia Chiajna
	2DF	Andrei Dorobanțu	(2004-08-29) 29 August 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Unirea Slobozia
8	3MF	Cătălin Vulturar	(2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 (age 22)	17	1	Rapid București
21	3MF	Cristian Mihai	(2004-09-23) 23 September 2004 (age 21)	12	2	Dinamo București
10	3MF	Alexandru Musi	(2004-07-17) 17 July 2004 (age 21)	9	2	Dinamo București
22	3MF	Lorenzo Biliboc	(2006-10-22) 22 October 2006 (age 19)	8	1	CFR Cluj
7	3MF	Adrian Mazilu	(2005-09-13) 13 September 2005 (age 20)	8	1	Dinamo București
18	3MF	Luca Szimionaș	(2006-09-03) 3 September 2006 (age 19)	6	0	Hellas Verona
15	3MF	David Matei	(2006-07-19) 19 July 2006 (age 19)	3	0	Universitatea Craiova
13	3MF	Ștefan Bană	(2004-10-29) 29 October 2004 (age 21)	2	0	Oțelul Galați
17	3MF	Luca Băsceanu	(2006-05-17) 17 May 2006 (age 19)	1	0	Universitatea Craiova
9	4FW	Atanas Trică	(2004-07-09) 9 July 2004 (age 21)	8	2	Universitatea Cluj
20	4FW	Ioan Vermeșan	(2006-10-18) 18 October 2006 (age 19)	6	1	Hellas Verona

Players born in or after 2004 are eligible for the 2027 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 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Vlad Rafailă	(2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 21)	2	0	Betis Deportivo	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
GK	Codruț Sandu	(2006-04-17) 17 April 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Corvinul Hunedoara	v.  San Marino, 9 September 2025
DF	Tony Strata INJ	(2004-09-07) 7 September 2004 (age 21)	12	0	Vitória Guimarães	v.  Kosovo, 27 March 2026
DF	Kevin Ciubotaru	(2004-02-02) 2 February 2004 (age 22)	4	0	Hermannstadt	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
DF	Ștefan Duțu	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Farul Constanța	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
DF	Robert Sălceanu	(2004-01-13) 13 January 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Rapid București	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
DF	Răzvan Pașcalău INJ	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 21)	2	0	CS Dinamo București	v.  Finland, 14 November 2025
DF	Antonio David	(2004-01-08) 8 January 2004 (age 22)	2	0	Inter Milan U23	v.  Cyprus, 14 October 2025
DF	Robert Bădescu	(2005-04-02) 2 April 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Metaloglobus București	v.  Netherlands, 25 March 2025
MF	Alin Boțogan INJ	(2004-02-21) 21 February 2004 (age 22)	7	0	Petrolul Ploiești	v.  Kosovo, 27 March 2026
MF	Rareș Pop	(2005-06-14) 14 June 2005 (age 20)	8	0	Petrolul Ploiești	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
MF	Robert Jălade	(2005-03-28) 28 March 2005 (age 21)	2	0	Sevilla Atlético	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
MF	Omar El Sawy	(2004-03-16) 16 March 2004 (age 22)	2	0	Universitatea Cluj	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025
MF	Eduard Radaslavescu	(2004-07-30) 30 July 2004 (age 21)	3	0	Farul Constanța	v.  Cyprus, 14 October 2025
MF	Mihnea Rădulescu INJ	(2005-09-17) 17 September 2005 (age 20)	3	1	Universitatea Craiova	v.  Serbia, 10 October 2025
FW	Rareș Burnete	(2004-01-31) 31 January 2004 (age 22)	12	1	Juve Stabia	v.  Spain, 18 November 2025

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.

• Romania national football team
• Romania Olympic football team