Romania have announced their final 26-man squad ahead of this summer's Euro 2024 in Germany.
The Tricolours are back on the continent's largest international stage after an eight-year absence and an unbeaten qualifying campaign, in which they navigated 10 matches with Switzerland, Israel, Belarus, Kosovo and Andorra unscathed to finish as section winners.
Taking charge of the national team in January 2022, Edward Iordanescu - just as his father Anghel Iordanescu did - has managed to guide Romania to a European Championships appearance, with the country's only win in the competition coming against England during the group stage of Euro 2000.
There is a genuine belief that the Tricolours' class of 2024 can create some magical memories of their own at this summer's tournament in Germany, with a favourable-looking group containing Belgium, Ukraine and Slovakia giving Iordanescu's men hope that they can progress into the knockout stages.
With UEFA revealing in May that competing nations will be allowed to take 26 players to Euro 2024, Romania have been afforded more room in their travelling party as they look to upset the odds at this summer's tournament.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Romania's squad for Euro 2024, who has been selected and who are some of the names to miss out completely.
Which Romanian stars have made the squad?
© Reuters
Helping his side concede just five goals in qualifying, Atletico Madrid's Horatiu Moldovan is the first-choice goalkeeper for Romania and has unsurprisingly made the squad, however the former Rapid Bucuresti man has not featured for the Spanish giants since joining in the January transfer window.
As a result, there could be a case for 36-year-old Florin Nita uprooting Moldovan and earning the spot in between the sticks for the start of the Euros, with the Gaziantep stopper starting the 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland in March, whilst the more youthful option of Stefan Tarnovanu will assume the role of third choice.
The headline name in the Tricolours' squad is undoubtedly centre-back Radu Dragusin, who secured a high-profile move from Genoa to Tottenham Hotspur in January, and although the defender finds himself behind Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in the pecking order in North London, the 22-year-old is the main man for his country.
Providing experience at the heart of the backline alongside Spurs star Dragusin, Andrei Burca is coming off a season of battling relegation in the Saudi Pro League with Al Okhdood, with the veteran set to reach 30 caps for Romania over the course of the summer schedule.
© Reuters
As well as Dragusin, there is further top-flight experience in the defence of the Tricolours courtesy of Andrei Ratiu's involvement at La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano, with Vasile Mogos and Nicusor Bancu completing the options at full-back for Iordanescu for this summer's competition.
Son of Romanian football star Gheorghe Hagi, Ianis Hagi will be striving to write his own legend in Germany, however the attacker is coming into the tournament following a difficult loan spell at Deportivo Alaves in Spain, where he was left frustrated due to a lack of game time.
Possibly the first name on the teamsheet, Nicolae Stanciu has been selected in the Tricolours' squad and is set to captain his nation this summer, with the attack-minded midfielder netting 14 goals during his international career to date, more than any of his teammates.
After being handed a good run of games on loan at Bari in Serie B during the second half of the term, former Reading striker George Puscas has made the squad, and the 28-year-old is set to battle with veteran 37-cap forward Denis Alibec for the spot at the focal point of Iordanescu's attack.
Which Romanian players have missed out?
© Reuters
A shoo-in to make the Euro 2024 squad following March's international break, Olimpiu Morutan has been ruled out of the tournament since late April, when the winger suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament injury while playing for Ankaragucu against Besiktas in the Turkish Cup.
Despite being on the books of Italian giants Inter Milan, Andrei Radu has been left out of the group for this summer's trip to Germany, with the goalkeeper managing just two Premier League appearances on loan at Bournemouth this season as he played second fiddle to Brazilian Neto.
Raul Oprut of Romanian outfit Hermannstadt started his nation's most recent fixture against South American powerhouses Colombia in March, however the left-back has not been included in the squad this time around, with Bancu set to have a free run on the left side of defence.
Other notable omissions include Cristian Manea and Florin Tanase, both of whom made the cut for friendly matches with Northern Ireland and Colombia earlier this year but have been excluded this time around.
Romania's squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers: Florin Nita (Gaziantep), Horatiu Moldovan (Atletico Madrid), Stefan Tarnovanu (FCSB)
Defenders: Nicusor Bancu (Universitatea Craiova), Andrei Burca (Al Okhdood), Ionut Nedelcearu (Palermo), Adrian Rus (Pisa), Andrei Ratiu (Rayo Vallecano), Radu Dragusin (Tottenham Hotspur), Vasile Mogos (CFR Cluj), Bogdan Racovitan (Rakow Czestochowa)
Midfielders: Nicolae Stanciu (Damac), Razvan Marin (Cagliari), Alexandru Cicaldau (Konyaspor), Ianis Hagi (Rangers), Dennis Man (Parma), Valentin Mihaila (Parma), Marius Marin (Pisa), Darius Olaru (FCSB), Deian Sorescu (Gaziantep), Florinel Coman (FCSB), Adrian Sut (FCSB)
Attackers: George Puscas (Genoa), Denis Alibec (Muaither), Denis Dragus (Standard Liege), Daniel Birligea (CFR Cluj)
Manager - Edward Iordanescu
© Reuters
After steering Romania to a comfortable first-placed finish in their Euro qualifying campaign with games to spare, you would imagine that Edward Iordanescu has the unanimous backing of his nation ahead of their first major tournament appearance since Euro 2016 in France, but that is not the case.
The 45-year-old is often criticised for his conservative approach to matches, a line of argument supported by the fact that the Tricolours only scored 16 goals in 10 qualifying fixtures despite going through the section unbeaten, with six of those strikes coming against European minnows Andorra across two meetings.
However, Iordanescu's achievement of transforming Romania into a strong defensive unit cannot be dismissed, especially after a worrying start to his reign in charge of the team in 2022, when the Triclours were relegated to Nations League C, finishing bottom of a group containing Bosnia Herzegovina, Finland and Montenegro.
The son of former Romania boss Anghel Iordanescu - who guided his country to a quarter-final appearance at the 1994 World Cup - Edward's CV in football management is more modest, although a Romanian title with CFR Cluj in 2021 represents a commendable highlight.
Group & Fixtures
June 17: Romania 3-0 Ukraine (2pm | Allianz Arena, Munich)
June 22: Belgium 2-0 Romania (8pm | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
June 26: Slovakia 1-1 Romania (5pm | Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt)
All kickoff times BST
