Euro 2024 will mark Romania’s first major tournament since 2016, having failed to qualify for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 as well as Euro 2020. Here is everything you need to know about the Romanian side hoping to bring some success back to the nation.

26 man team for the tournament

Head coach Edward Iordanescu’s 26 man squad includes the son of legendary midfielder Gheorghe Hagi, Ianis, who currently plays for Rangers as well as Tottenham centre-back Radu Dragusin.

🇷🇴✅ 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Romania have qualified for EURO 2024!

The son of Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi, Ianis, scored the winning goal vs Israel! What a magnificent storyline. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7umI4sJb2V

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) November 18, 2023

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Florin Nita, Horatiu Moldovan, Stefan Tarnavanu.

Defenders: Andrei Ratiu, Radu Dragusin, Adrian Rus, Ionut Nedelcearu, Nicusor Bancu, Andrei Burca, Vasile Mogos, Bogdan Racovitan.

Midfielders: Marius Marin, Alexandru Cicaldau, Ianis Hagi, Darius Olaru, Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu, Deian Sorescu, Adrian Sut.

Forwards: Denis Alibec, George Puscas, Valentin Mihalia, Florinel Coman, Denis Dragus, Dennis Man, Daniel Birligea.

Romania 0-0 Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Romania 0-0 Lichtenstein 🇱🇮

10 days until we play against Ukraine and debut at Euro 2024 . Very difficult to predict the final squad .#hairomania pic.twitter.com/RDlukngQvC

— Romanian Football (@Romanianfotball) June 7, 2024

Group and schedule

Romania were drawn into Group E alongside Belgium, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Their campaign begins on Monday the 17th of June against Ukraine (14:00 BST) followed by Belgium on the 22nd (20:00 BST) and ending their group stage matches against Slovakia on the 26th (17:00 BST). Their matches will be available to watch on BBC One, ITV and BBC iPlayer respectively.

Player to watch

Tottenham defender Radu Dragusin is my player to watch for Romania. The 22-year-old centre-back made the switch from Genoa to North London in the 2024 transfer window and in limited opportunities for Ange Postecoglu’s team, he has put on some impressive performances.

In nine games he helped the team to one clean sheet, providing a 60% tackle success rate, eight interceptions, 18 clearances, 21 recoveries, 19 duels won, nine aerial battles won and zero errors leading to goals. Look for Dragusin to lead Romania from the back throughout their European campaign.

Radu Dragusin the best football player in Romania. pic.twitter.com/YPSXjlt562

— .🇪🇦 (@ClinicalBergval) May 16, 2024

How did they fare at the last Euros

As mentioned, Romania have not played in the European Championships since 2016. For 2020, they were drawn into a qualifying group that consisted of Spain, Sweden, Norway, Malta and the Faroe Islands. Romania went as far as a playoff match against Iceland, having failed to gain automatic qualification, however they lost 1-2 to Iceland and were eliminated from contention.

How far will they go this time?

Romania will certainly feel more confident heading into Euro 2024. They qualified top of their group by a five point margin over second placed Switzerland and were unbeaten in 10 matches (6W/4D/0L).

Unfortunately for Romania I do not predict they will make it past the group stages. I expect them to finish bottom of the group and be automatically eliminated. They could finish third, but even in that instance I would be surprised if they were among the four best third-placed teams that earned a spot in the last 16. Though for the Romanian faithful, being back in the mix at all must feel good enough.