Romania vs Bulgaria

Stadionul Steaua is the venue as Romania and Bulgaria go head-to-head in an all-Balkans international friendly.

Romania return to the big stage after an eight-year hiatus from major tournaments after finishing atop Euro 2024 qualifying Group I without losing a single game (W6, D4). In doing so, they left Switzerland five points behind and secured their first European Championship qualification since 2016. With four of Romania’s five previous Euro appearances ending in the group stages, building momentum could be crucial ahead of the tournament. Edward Ioardanescu’s men were on course to do just that, racking up an eye-catching 12-gam unbeaten run (W7, D5) before a 3-2 defeat to Colombia last time out stopped them in their tracks. Looking to bounce back immediately, the Romanians take on Bulgaria, a side they most recently defeated in 1989!

Despite an epic downfall of Bulgarian football since the glory days of Hristo Stoichkov, the Lions have fared well against Romania, avoiding defeat across their last five H2Hs (W2, D3). Low scoring has been a common theme across those encounters, with four out of five featuring under 2.5 goals. Since both Bulgaria’s friendlies in March followed the same theme (W1, D1), keeping things tight could be their best chance of clinching another positive result. The Bulgarians need every encouragement they can get after failing to qualify for the Euros for the fifth time in a row, finishing bottom of Group G as the only winless side (D4, L4). However, Ilian Iliev’s men have traveled poorly, failing to win any of their last seven away internationals (D4, L3), six of which saw them score under 1.5 goals.