This is a record of Romania's results at the FIFA World Cup. Romania has participated at 7 of 23 final tournaments of the World Cup. They were one of the few European participants at the inaugural edition held in Uruguay in 1930. The best performance of the team was in 1994 in the United States, when Romania reached quarter-finals after defeating Diego Maradona's Argentina. They eventually lost to Sweden after a penalty shoot-out. The last time Romania qualified was in 1998 in France, when they reached the round of 16, losing to Croatia. The team's top scorer at the World Cup is Florin Răducioiu, with 4 goals, all scored in 1994.
Record at the FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordYearRoundPosition* 1930 Group stage 8th 2 1 0 1 3 5 1934 Round of 16 12th 1 0 0 1 1 2 1938 9th 2 0 1 1 4 5 1950 Did not enter 1954 Did not qualify 1958 1962 Withdrew 1966 Did not qualify 1970 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 4 5 1974 Did not qualify 1978 1982 1986 1990 Round of 16 12th 4 1 2 1 4 3 1994 Quarter-finals 6th 5 3 1 1 10 9 1998 Round of 16 11th 4 2 1 1 4 3 2002 Did not qualify 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030 To be determined 2034Total Quarter-finals 7/25 21 8 5 8 30 32 *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out
Romania's World Cup recordFirst match Romania 3–1 (14 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay)Biggest win 3–1 (14 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) 2–0 (9 June 1990; Bari, Italy) 3–1 (18 June 1994; Pasadena, United States)Biggest defeat 4–0 (21 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay)Best resultQuarter-finals in 1994Worst resultGroup stage in 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1970
By Match
World CupRoundOpponentScoreResultVenueScorers1930Group 33–1WMontevideoA. Deșu, C. Stanciu, N. Kovács0–4LMontevideo1934Round of 161–2LTriesteȘ. Dobay1938Round of 163–3 (a.e.t.)DToulouseS. Bindea, I. Baratky, Ș. Dobay1–2LToulouseȘ. Dobay1970Group 30–1LGuadalajara2–1WGuadalajaraA. Neagu, F. Dumitrache2–3LGuadalajaraF. Dumitrache, E. Dembrovschi1990Group B2–0WBariM. Lăcătuș (2)1–2LBariG. Balint1–1DNaplesG. BalintRound of 160–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 pen.)DGenoa1994Group A3–1WPasadenaF. Răducioiu (2), G. Hagi1–4LPontiacG. Hagi1–0WPasadenaD. PetrescuRound of 163–2WPasadenaI. Dumitrescu (2), G. HagiQuarter-finals2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 pen.)DStanfordF. Răducioiu (2)1998Group G1–0WLyonA. Ilie2–1WToulouseV. Moldovan, D. Petrescu1–1DSaint-DenisV. MoldovanRound of 160–1LBordeaux
Record by Opponent FIFA World Cup matches (by team)OpponentWinsDrawsLossesTotalGoals ScoredGoals Conceded110243001123001112200241001101011245101233101222100131010100100120010122001114010111100110001104
Record players
Gheorghe Popescu and Gheorghe Hagi, Romania's top World Cup players, were team-mates at Steaua, Barcelona and Galatasaray. They became brothers-in-law when Hagi married Popescu's sister.
No.NameMatchesWorld Cups1Gheorghe Popescu131990, 1994 and 19982Gheorghe Hagi121990, 1994 and 19983Dorinel Munteanu91994 and 1998Dan Petrescu91994 and 19985Ilie Dumitrescu81990, 1994 and 1998Ionuţ Lupescu81990 and 19947Florin Răducioiu71990 and 19948Constantin Gâlcă61994 and 1998Bogdan Stelea61994 and 199810Marius Lăcătuș51990 and 1998Miodrag Belodedici51994Daniel Prodan51994
Top goalscorers
No.NameGoalsWorld Cups1Florin Răducioiu419942Ștefan Dobay31934 (1) and 1938 (2)Gheorghe Hagi319944Florea Dumitrache21970Gavril Balint21990Marius Lăcătuș21990Ilie Dumitrescu21994Dan Petrescu21994 and 1998Viorel Moldovan2199810Eight players1
See also Romania at the UEFA European Championship
References