Alibec, Man push Romania's Euro qualifiers hope in 0-2 away win against Andorra

Parma's winger Dennis Man and Farul Constanța's veteran striker Denis Alibec scored two past Andorran goalkeeper Iker Álvarez at a packed Estadi Nacional. This is Romania's first win of the year and the first three points for their Euro 2024's qualifiers campaign.

The tricolor boys, in their newly-released home kit, were coming hot in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

"Our boys came into their game in the first 30 minutes. We looked a little desperate to score the first goal. That was the only negative thing. The score is a good one. I think that Man, Alibec, and Drăguşin were our best players," Romania's former golden player Adrian Mutu told Antena 1 post-match.

Andrei Radu was the man under the post, followed by four defenders Andrei Rațiu, Radu Drăguşin, Andrei Burcă, and Deian Sorescu. Răzvan Marin and Olimpiu Moruțan provided solid defensive units and supported captain Nicolae Stanciu, Darius Olaru, and Dennis Man. Alibec was the sole striker.

His powerful header turned into chaos in front of the goal and he nearly opened the score before referees spotted an accidental handball in the process. Then, winger Moruțan's crossing to the post led to a powerful header by Man in the 34th minute, giving Romania a comfortable 0-1 lead.

Alibec caught a through ball by Marin and then comfortably nicked it to the back of the net at the beginning of the second half. Andorran Marc Rebés's second yellow helped Romania dominate for the rest of the game with 71% of ball possession and 12 total shots, compared to Andorra's 3 shots.

Helmed by Edward Iordănescu, the Romanian men's national football team will face Belarus at Arena Nationala, Bucharest, on March 28. They will come with an impressive track record against Denis Polyakov and co, totaling 4 wins, 2 draws, and a 15-7 goal difference in their total of 6 outings so far.

They're currently sitting on second in Group I below Switzerland, who'd just secured an away 0-5 win against Belarus earlier.

(Photo source: FRF.ro)