Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Romania and Liechstenstein face each other in a David-vs-Goliath clash at Stadionul National. The Tricolori aim to stay in the race for a top-two finish, and they are likely to go all guns blazing at the minnows. Since Romania impressed in a 2-0 win at Iceland in midweek, anything but a routine home win would be a major surprise. The good news for the hosts is that both Bancu and Maxim return from suspensions.
The underdogs, on the other hand, suffered a 2-0 defeat to Germany on Thursday evening, with the team extending their losing run in the World Cup qualifiers to four matches. Since the rock-bottom side are low on spirits ahead of the trip to Bucharest, we do not believe that they are capable of grabbing something from the match. You should bear in mind that Romania are eyeing their fifth consecutive win over Liechtenstein.
Highlighted Player (Ciprian Tatarusanu):
Anton Ciprian Tatarusanu is one of Romania’s most famous goalkeeper at the moment, and he has surprisingly spent the majority of his career up to date in his native country. The highly rated shot-stopper joined the most famous club on domestic stage Steaua via Juventus Bucuresti and Gloria Bistrita and he would go on to spend next seven years in the capital, making over 130 league appearances and featuring in over 40 matches in European competitions.
The big club move finally materialised in the summer of 2014 as he waited his contract to expire before signing for Fiorentina, and he quickly established himself as the number one goalkeeper at Artemio Franchi.
When it comes to international stage, Tatarusanu has spent much of his career competing with Costel Pantilimon for the starting berth in the national team, and he has emerged a winner, making 30 odd appearances for the Tricolorii since 2010. Bar any surprises, Tatarusanu will make his debut appearance at major tournaments at the Euro 2016 finals.
Highlighted Team (Liechtenstein):
Liechtenstein national football team are well known at the Blues-Reds. They wear blue shirts and red shorts when playing in front of home fans, whilst their second colours are red (shirts) and blue (shorts). Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz is considered the team’s home ground and the capacity of the venue is 7.584.
In 1981 Liechtenstein faced Malta in their first ever unofficial match and they shared the spoils (1-1) with the Falcons in Seoul. Speaking of their first official game, Liechtenstein suffered a 1-0 loss to Switzerland two years later and it has to be noted that the Swiss played with a severely-weakened squad. The Blues-Reds recorded their first ever win in the World Cup qualifiers on October 13, 2004, with the team rolling over Luxembourg on the road.
At the same time, that was the team’s first ever away win and, no doubt, the triumph gave the minnows a confidence boost. Liechtenstein have yet to qualify for the finals of a major tournament and they suffered their biggest loss on November 9, 1996. The minnows were beaten by Macedonia 11-1 in front of home fans in Eschen.