Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Germany will be aiming to extend their winning run in Group J to four games when they take on Romania at Volksparkstadion on Friday. Hansi Flick’s troops impressed in back-to-back wins over Armenia (6-0) and Iceland (4-0), and they are likely to stick to their attacking style of play. Both Marc-Andre ter Stegen (goalkeeper) and Matthias Ginter (defender) return to the squad, with fit-again Bayern Munchen winger Serge Gnabry making the cut as well.
Romania, on the other hand, are eyeing fourth consecutive clean sheet in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, but preventing the Germans from scoring in front of home fans is easier said than done. It has to be noted that Fortuna Dusseldorf midfielder Dragos Nedelcu is banned for the visiting team. When the two teams met in Bucharest earlier in the process Romania defeated Germany thanks to Serge Gnabry’s goal, which is yet another reason why home win should be considered.
Highlighted Player (Manuel Neuer):
Manuel Neuer is a German shoot-stopper who plays for Bayern Munich. Neuer used to play for Schalke in the past and in 2011 he joined their fierce rivals FCB for a fee of €22 million. Some Bayern fans were unhappy about the signing of the Schalke goalkeeper, but they changed their quickly changed their opinions.
The 193-cm-tall keeper, who was born on 27 March, 1986 in Gelsenkirchen, has established himself as one of the best shoot-stoppers in the world and, no doubt, he helped Bayern Munich win the 2015/2016 Bundesliga trophy. In 2012/2013 Manuel Neuer and FCB clinched the Champions League trophy as they defeated fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the title game.
Speaking of his international career, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper won the 2014 FIFA World Cup trophy with Germany and it has to be noted that he managed to keep a clean sheet in the title game (1-0). Neur’s idol as a child was Jens Lehman, who played for Germany as a goalkeeper as well.
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.