EURO friendly report card: Romania

Results
Wednesday: Romania 1-0 Lithuania (Stanciu 65)
Pantilimon; Mățel, Chiricheș, Moți, Filip (Toșca 86); Pintilii, Sănmărtean (Hoban 59); Torje (Ivan 58), Stancu (Hora 76), Tănase (Stanciu 46); Rusescu (Keșerü 46).

Substitute Nicolae Stanciu scored 20 minutes into his senior international debut to give Romania victory in an otherwise flat display against a well-organised Lithuania side. Steaua București midfielder Stanciu was introduced at half-time and his long-range strike made it a dream start for the 22-year-old.

Sunday:Romania 0-0 Spain
Tătăruşanu; Săpunaru, Chiricheş, Grigore, Filip; Hoban, Pintilii (Ropotan 90+1); Popa (Torje 61), Stanciu (Sânmărtean 85), Stancu (Ivan 67); Andone (Rusescu 74).

Romania had much to be encouraged about against the European champions. Stanciu was especially impressive, twice testing Iker Casillas, while both Florin Andone and Bogdan Stancu spurned chances to break the deadlock. At the other end, Ciprian Tătăruşanu stood firm between the posts.

What we learned
1) Now unbeaten in 14 games (W7 D7), during which they have conceded just four goals, Romania have confirmed their reputation as an extremely solid group. The fact that four of their last eight matches finished 0-0 tells its own story – Romania's defence is mighty, but they do not score many.

2) Anghel Iordănescu's squad is not set in stone yet. Steaua playmaker Stanciu made his first two appearances for the national team this week, scoring the winning goal in the first before being named man of the match against continental title holders Spain.

3) Romania's basic approach – defend diligently, work hard and hit on the counter – has not changed, but the week's scorelines do not reflect the more attacking approach shown over the last few days, the performance against Spain particularly encouraging.

Questions remain
▪ Though Dinamo București left-back Steliano Filip, 21, was excellent in both games, can he keep his place after captain Răzvan Raț returns following shoulder surgery?

▪ Romania's only goal this week was a long-range strike from midfield, with none of their forwards dazzling; will they find a regular goalscorer before the finals?

▪ Iordănescu's men have held UEFA EURO 2012 finalists Spain and Italy in recent months, but how will they approach must-win fixtures against the likes of Switzerland and Albania once they are in France?

Room for improvement
With a mean defence, tactical nous, a great work ethic, and creativity in midfield, all Romania lack is goals. Since the beginning of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying, they have played six games against fellow finalists yet have won only one (2-0 v Northern Ireland), drawing the other five (three of those encounters ending 0-0). Romania can match anyone but need goals to get through the group stage.

EURO certainties (if fit)
Goalkeepers: Ciprian Tătărușanu (Fiorentina), Costel Pantilimon (Watford)

Defenders: Cristian Săpunaru (Pandurii Târgu Jiu), Alexandru Mățel (Dinamo Zagreb), Vlad Chiricheș (Napoli), Dragoș Grigore (Al-Sailiya), Cosmin Moți (Ludogorets), Răzvan Raț (Rayo Vallecano), Steliano Filip (Dinamo București)

Midfielders: Adrian Popa (Steaua), Gabriel Torje (Osmanlispor), Mihai Pintilii (Steaua), Ovidiu Hoban (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Nicolae Stanciu (Steaua)

Forwards: Bogdan Stancu (Gençlerbirliği), Claudiu Keșerü (Ludogorets), Florin Andone (Córdoba)

Media view
Maria Andrieș, Gazeta Sporturilor writer
"Against Spain, our players wanted to prove that they are a hard-working side and they succeeded. Actually, it was like a dress-rehearsal for their opening EURO match [against France] and generally speaking this is how we will look at the finals. It's obvious that we will frustrate all opponents with our defence and, within reason, we will try to push for goals as well. The novelty [of the last two games] was this: our attack showed signs of life."