Romania qualifies for EURO 2024, after an eight-year break. The national team led by Edi Iordănescu defeated Israel, score 2-1, and obtained the tickets for the final tournament in Germany, one match before the end of the preliminaries. Geroge Pușcaș and Ianis Hagi scored for Romania’s most important victory in recent years.
Ianis Hagi rewrites history after 30 years
Romania went to the start of the preliminaries for EURO 2024 with the third chance, after Switzerland and Israel, drawn from the first two ballot boxes. After the victory with the national team from the Holy Land, they occupy the first place in the group, with 19 points, and will fight against Switzerland on November 21 to remain the leader. The first national team will play in the sixth European Championship in history.
Ianis Hagi rewrote history in the match between Israel and Romania. On November 17, the day before this group final, it was 30 years since the victory that took Romania to the World Championship in the United States, score 2-1, against Wales, a success achieved in Cardiff. Gică Hagi opened the score, and now, his son Ianis, managed to score in the decider against Israel. He confessed that he does not believe in coincidences, but in destiny.
“We are happy. We adapted and managed to qualify. We are aware of where we are. The qualification was felt, we were prepared tonight. We were prepared for this match, I’m glad I managed to score.
I don’t believe in coincidences, I believe in destiny, you make your own destiny depending on how you work daily, I worked since I was a small child. We qualified for the Euros. The Romanian national team was prepared from the first match and we deserve to be at the European Championship”, said Ianis Hagi after the match with Israel.
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George Pușcaș, empty after more than a year
George Pucas’ goal was the forward’s first in eight months. His previous success had been registered on March 6, 2023, when he scored for his team, Genoa, against Cosenzai, which ended 4-0.
Read also: How much money will the “tricolors” receive, if they qualify for EURO 2024. How to divide the ten million euros awarded by UEFA
George Pușcaș had scored the last time for the Romanian national team in September 2022, in the victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, score 4-1, in the League of Nations. Then he managed a double.
How Romania got to EURO 2016, the last one it played in
The last time our national team went to a final tournament was in 2016. Romania was distributed in the preliminaries in Group F, along with Greece, Hungary, Finland, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands.
The “Tricolori” finished the group in second position, with 20 points, one length behind Northern Ireland. Romania managed to go undefeated in the preliminaries, with five wins and five draws, and a goal difference of 11-2. The first national team qualified with Anghel Iordănescu on the bench.
