Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Buoyed by a 3-0 win over Kosovo, Romania will look to retain top position in Group 2 when they take on Lithuania at Stadionul Steaua. The Tricolori quickly bounced back from the EURO 2024 loss to Netherlands and, no doubt, they are brimming with confidence ahead of Monday’s showdown. Barring any fresh injury worries, experienced tactician Mircea Lucescu is unlikely to make changes to the team that outplayed Kosovo in the opener.
The Lithuanians, on the other hand, failed to impress in a 1-0 loss to Cyprus and given their difficulties on the road, anything but routine home win would be a big shock. Even though there are no fresh injury concerns in the away team, Burton forward Tomas Kalinauskas should sneak into the starting XI. You should bear in mind that Romania have defeated Lithuania in each of their last four meetings in all competitions.
Highlighted Team (Romania):
Romania were one of just four European sides to take part at the first ever World Cup in 1930, and the team have since achieved respectable results on the international stage, albeit failing to challenge for major trophies.
Led by arguably their best ever footballer Gheorghe Hagi, the Tricolorii narrowly missed out on the semi-finals at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, losing to Sweden on penalties. Romania made a total of seven appearances at the World Cup finals, while qualifying for five European Championship tournaments. The Tricolorii went the farthest in 2000, when they were eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals.
Tied at the top of the goalscoring charts, Gheorghe Hagi and Adrian Mutu are the only two Romanian footballers to have gained worldwide recognition, but Dorinel Munteanu, Dan Petrescu, Gheorghe Popescu and Viorel Moldovan are also worth mention. Romania play their home games at the Arena National in Bucarest.