Soccer UEFA Euro Qualification - Group Stage

Kosovo vs Romania - Match Preview

⚽ 16 June 2023 - 18:45 GMT +0

Kosovo (D2) may be the newest footballing nation in Group I of the current UEFA Euro qualification (ECQ) campaign, but they would close the gap behind second-placed Romania to just a single point with a victory. There is also something of a political backstory at play too, with Romania’s long-standing refusal to accept Kosovo’s sovereignty off the pitch giving the pre-match outsiders every reason to go all out for a historic result in this maiden H2H.

That said, improvements will be needed on their last showing (D 1-1), which enabled the traditionally feeble Andorra to escape Pristina with just a second-ever ECQ away point in 25 years. The result marked Kosovo’s third straight 1-1 draw overall, and their frustrations ahead of kick-off are only amplified by the fact that all three of those saw them squander the lead.

Romania’s quest to make only a fourth Euro finals appearance since the turn of the century is without a blemish so far (W2), putting them on course to emulate the nation’s unbeaten passages to Euros 2000 and 2016. Edward Iordănescu’s men are already setting a positive trend for themselves, with their first two qualifiers in the current campaign seeing them cruise to a 2-0 lead before reaching the 50-minute mark.

Interestingly, Euro 2000 remains the only edition ever to see any Tricolours squad eventually reach the knockouts. Meanwhile, the qualifiers for Euro 2016 contributed towards Romania’s ongoing streak of five straight ECQ away wins ‘to-nil’ against teams presently ranked outside FIFA’s top 70, with all five coming by a margin of 2+ goals!

📋 Players to watch: Kosovo striker Vedat Muriqi could well be the one who usurps Romania’s perfect start. He finished the latest La Liga season as ninth-placed Malllorca’s runaway top-scorer and notably netted second-half goals in three of the Pirates’ last five home wins in 2022/23. Aiming to plunder his thunder, Dennis Man has netted the opener in each of Romania’s three most recent competitive away wins, all of which ended 2-0.

⚡ Hot stat: Seven of Kosovo’s last eight outings have seen both sides score.