Romania

Romania is currently ranked 13th in the world. It was the fourth team to qualify for the Euro 2008. They were part of Group C, nicknamed the Group of Death because others in the group included France, Italy and Netherlands. Romania is one of only four national teams to participate in the first three World Cups. The other three were Brazil, France and Belgium. But after that, they qualified only once between 1950 and 1986. Romania then had a solid run through the 1990s, advancing to the second round or better in three consecutive World Cups. The highlight of this period was the 1994 World Cup where Romania, led by Gheorghe Hagi, reached the quarterfinals and defeated Argentina 3-2 before losing to Sweden on penalty kicks.

In Euro 2000, Romania drew 1-1 with Germany and defeated England 3-2 to move to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runners-up Italy. Since 2001, the team has had less success since 2001. It narrowly missed qualification for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and also missing out on Euro 2004.

Total team effort is the motto of coach Victor Piturca. He doesn't depend too much on the talents of any individual player. The coach is a great believer in making full use of a squad, using 39 players during his UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying campaign and insisting that - barring a couple of ever-presents - his side "don't depend upon one player or another".

A former striker himself, Piturca loves exciting forward play but is not reckless, often deploying two men to protect his back four. His instincts may be attacking but his Romania side have been a model of discipline while giving star striker Adrian Mutu plenty of opportunity to shine.

Goalkeeper Bodgan Lobont is one of the mainstays of the team. But the defence in front of him will change from time to time. The good form of tall, powerful centre-backs Dorin Goian and Gabriel Tamas even persuaded the coach to field the versatile captain Cristian Chivu in midfield on occasion. Usually a central defender or left-back, Chivu has deputised successfully in both central and left midfield in the absence of the injured Razvan Cocis and Mirel Radoi. Left midfield, however, is likely to go to Nicolae Dica at the finals, although Laurentiu Rosu - who is quicker - may be deployed there depending on the opponents Cosmin Contra at right-back and Razvan Rat on the left also carry an attacking threat.

On the right, Banel Nicolita and Florentin Petre are both hard workers, if not prolific scorers. Marica, by contrast, gets among opposition defences, looking to exploit his pace to snatch goals. The real menacing work is left to Piturca's preferred striking partnership of Mutu and Ciprian Marica, who scored eleven goals between them in qualifying and have made good use of their contrasting styles. Mutu has style in spades, specialising in free-kicks and dangerous raids from the left. Man to watch out for: Mutu

Romania Euro Squad