Coach of the Romanian national football team Mircea Lucescu told a news conference on Thursday ahead of a match versus Bosnia and Herzegovina in the opening of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, that he feels the responsibility and knows how difficult it will be, but, at the same time, he hopes that the Romanian side will manage to progress to the final tournament.
„The qualification has nothing to do with me. I am here to help a group of players who were in difficulty because no one wanted to take over the national side. That’s my role. I feel that responsibility, I know how hard it is and what it implies. But, at the same time, I also hope that we will manage to advance. I know it’s not easy, but I trust the guys. Our first and most important asset is the group. That is where we start. There are players who have been playing together for 6-7 years, some from juniors, they respect each other, help each other, stimulate each other. And on such a background it is possible in a short time to work seriously and well with them,” he said.
Lucescu explained that Bosnia and Herzegovina are a very strong team and that their strengths will be balanced by the strength of the group from the Romanian national team.
„It’s an extremely important match. Bosnia are a team in which all 30 of its players play abroad for big teams, 9 of them in Germany. And we have to balance that with a very homogeneous group. It’s very difficult to make changes in the team. You can’t introduce a new player into the team in 2-3 days and give performance, it’s impossible. And then, the group of players, the contribution of the public, the atmosphere that is created are the most important components, it is the basis. After that is something else: improving the style of play of the national team, to be as it was in the ’70s, in ’84 or in the ’90s, when we managed to dominate the opponents,” said the coach.
„Bosnia are a very strong team. And they, like all of us, are starting from scratch now. Even Cyprus are an important team, with 5-6 players who play in strong leagues. So, things are no longer as they were before. That’s why we have to fight for every game, for every moment to take steps forward. If people imagine that we participate in this competition whistling, it is a big mistake. We will have to fight very hard,” Lucescu added.
Romania meet Bosnia-Herzegovina at the National Arena in Bucharest (March 21, at 21:45hrs, EET) and San Marino, at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle (March 24, at 21:45hrs) in their first 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Romania’s side are part of Group H, along with Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus and San Marino, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Romania have not qualified for a World Cup final tournament since 1998.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign starts in Europe in March 2025 and ends in November 2025.
The winners of the 12 preliminary groups will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. For the other four places available for the European zone, the 12 group runners-up and the best-ranked group winners of the Nations League, 2024-25 edition, who fail to advance, will fight.
AGERPRES
