With 101 places separating them in the FIFA World Rankings, Andorra host top-two hopefuls Romania in their opening battle of Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday evening at the Estadi Nacional.

Switzerland, Israel, Kosovo and Belarus also comprise the intriguing Group I section, although this weekend's hosts will not be expected to upset the apple cart.

Match preview

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Unsurprisingly still waiting for their maiden appearance at a major tournament, Andorra enjoyed a solid if yet unspectacular Nations League campaign last year, finally getting off the mark after claiming zero wins from 12 Group D games in the first two editions.

Seeing off the unfancied Liechtenstein 4-1 over their two meetings, Koldo Alvarez's men also took two points from their other four showdowns with Moldova and Latvia, but a third-placed finish in the fourth tier is hardly anything to write home about.

While the big boys took to the field in Qatar, Andorra closed out their 2022 with a pair of friendlies against Austria and Gibraltar - a 1-0 defeat to Ralf Rangnick's team was by no means disastrous, but losing by the same scoreline in Gibraltar was disappointing.

Nevertheless, Alvarez can be encouraged by what he witnessed during the most recent calendar year, where defeat to Austria was Andorra's only home loss from their six matches across all competitions, conceding just three goals in the process.

However, the world's 153rd-ranked nation have only ever won one European Championship qualifying match in their history - overcoming Moldova 1-0 in October 2019 - and few will be placing bets on Alvarez's team clinching number two here.

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Yet to qualify for a World Cup finals since the turn of the millennium, Romania missed out on a place at the grandest stage for the sixth time in a row in 2022, having agonisingly been pipped to second place in their UEFA section by North Macedonia, who finished one point better off.

Since coming so close yet so far in World Cup qualifying, Edward Iordanescu has endured the true meaning of a baptism of fire since taking over in 2022, overseeing a dampening relegation to League C in the Nations League after Romania took just seven points from their showdowns with Montenegro, Finland and Bosnia and Herzegovina - a striking 4-1 win over the latter on the final day proved inconsequential.

Taking on Slovenia and Moldova in their final pair of friendlies for 2022, Romania went down 2-1 to the former before ending a forgettable calendar year in ruthless fashion, demolishing Moldova 5-0 thanks to five goals from five different scorers.

Since reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2000, Romania have made a habit of qualifying for one continental tournament and failing to qualify for the next - missing out in 2012 and 2020 either side of group-stage exits in 2008 and 2016.

On a brighter note, the world's 52nd-ranked nation have only suffered three defeats from their last 13 Euro qualifying games away from home, and Romania have four victories to their name from four previous meetings with Andorra, scoring 15 times and conceding just once.

Team News

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Slowly moving away from their team of wise old heads, Andorra have not called upon the services of 43-year-old centre-back Ildefons Lima or 40-year-old midfielder Marc Pujol for March's fixtures, with the pair boasting a staggering 239 caps between them.

Experienced goalkeeper Josep Gomes is also nowhere to be seen, so Villarreal B youngster Iker Alvarez ought to act as the last line of defence, while current top scorer Marc Vales - who has five strikes to his name internationally - will likely start in the heart of the backline.

As for Romania, Genoa striker George Puscas has been forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, while the experienced heads of Vlad Chiriches and Alexandru Maxim were not included in the squad either.

With Puscas unavailable, captain Nicolae Stanciu - now on the books at Wuhan Three Towns - will shoulder the attacking burden, having struck 11 goals in 56 appearances for his country so far.

Stanciu will likely be handed a start in the number 10 role, allowing Denis Alibec to strut his stuff at the tip of the attack.

Andorra possible starting lineup:
Alvarez; Jesus Rubio, Vales, Alavedra, Cervos; Martinez, Rebes, M. Vieira, Pomares; Rosas, Cucu

Romania possible starting lineup:
Nita; Manea, Dragusin, Burca, Oprut; R. Marin, Cicaldau; Morutan, Stanciu, Man; Alibec

We say: Andorra 0-2 Romania

There were plenty of positive signs for Andorra in 2022, but those positive signs should not translate into a shock win against a side sitting over 100 places higher than them in the standings.

Romania are a far cry from the force they once were and cannot expect to find the back of the net at will, but the visitors should still encounter few roadblocks en route to an opening triumph.


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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