The best defence in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
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Meet the defence that have out-blocked the great and the good, conceding just one goal in eight qualifiers so far – not that their fans and media are completely happy.
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Quiz question: Which team has the best defence in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying? England or Spain? Close but not quite. Wales? Closer still. World champions Germany? They do not even make the top 20. No, the top defensive unit belongs to Romania: eight matches played, one conceded.
Keeping it tight
Three of the back four, central defenders Dragoș Grigore and Vlad Chiricheș, and left-back Răzvan Raț, are regulars and it is only on the right where coach Anghel Iordănescu is less certain. "If I had Dani Alves and Rafinha, I would not have opted to call up Paul Papp," he admitted.
But Papp has taken his place in a back line that has repelled most of what they have had thrown at them, with goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu producing a string of great saves in the big matches.
Where have all the goals gone?
But in Romania there is increasing unrest: can parsimony alone see them through? Three successive 0-0 draws have seen a five-point advantage over third-placed Hungary slashed to three. It is now 338 minutes since Claudiu Keșerü scored Romania's only competitive goal of 2015 and Iordănescu's side are 75 minutes from breaking a national record that has stood since 1948.
"I'm not alarmed," said the coach. "It is positive that we gained two points away in Northern Ireland and Hungary. We have to face the reality that this is now our national team: we cannot dominate groups and win all our matches like we did years ago." The days of reaching three successive FIFA World Cup knockout stages, as Romania did in the 90s, are behind them for now.
Iordănescu has also had his hands tied to an extent. Ciprian Marica, Romania's attacking fulcrum for the past few years, is without a club; Raul Rusescu and Bogdan Stancu have struggled for form; and, at 22, Cordoba youngster Florin Andone is still finding his feet at senior level. Much seems to rest on Keșerü but there is a good omen: their record win was a 9-0 defeat of Finland in Bucharest in 1973; the same nation come to the same city on Thursday.
Does it matter?
But does it matter? Romania could qualify without adding to their seven goals, instead relying on their strong discipline and iron defence. And you can be efficient and spectacular – did Greece fans object to their lack of goals during their UEFA EURO 2004 campaign? Iordanescu sums it up: "The only thing which matters is to qualify. Qualifications are achieved, not played."
