Sports Mole previews Friday's international friendly between Romania and Canada, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Romania will lock horns with Canada in a friendly on Friday, four days before resuming their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with an away fixture against Cyprus.
The hosts are third in Group H, picking up six points from their four qualification matches thus far, while Canada have already booked their spot at next year's tournament due to their position as co-hosts.
Match preview
Romania have not qualified for the finals of a World Cup since 1998, with a successful period seeing the national side reach the round of 16 twice and the quarter-finals between 1990 and 1998.
It is a big ask for Mircea Lucescu's side to secure a spot at the 2026 competition, but they have managed to pick up six points from their four Group H matches thus far to sit third in the table, three points behind leaders Bosnia and Herzegovina and level on points with second-placed Austria.
The Tricolours competed at Euro 2024, reaching the last-16 stage of the competition, which represented their best performance since a quarter-final spot in 2000.
Romania were last in action on June 10, recording a 2-0 victory over Cyprus, and they now have the return game in the group on September 9, so staying injury-free will be the main focus for this match.
The Tricolours have actually never locked horns with Canada in a competitive or non-competitive match, so there will be history on Friday when the two national teams face off.
As for Canada, their position as co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup means that their qualification for the finals of the competition has already been secured.
The Reds have only ever been in the finals of two World Cups, with one of those coming in 2022, and they failed to make it out of the group stage, losing all three of their matches.
Jesse Marsch's side were shocked by Guatemala in the Gold Cup at the end of June, losing on penalties in the quarter-finals, with Mexico proving to be the winners after beating USA in the final.
Canada have three more friendlies scheduled for the remainder of the year, taking on Wales on September 9 before tackling both Australia and Colombia in October.
The Reds are not expected to make too much of an impression at the 2026 World Cup, but they do have some outstanding players, namely Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies and Juventus' Jonathan David.
Romania friendlies form:
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Romania form (all competitions):
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Canada friendlies form:
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Canada form (all competitions):
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Team News
Romania head coach Lucescu will look to use his full squad for this match, and he will not be taking any chances when it comes to fitness ahead of the key game with Cyprus next week.
Andrei Ratiu is the captain, and the 27-year-old, who plays his club football for Rayo Vallecano, is likely to be among the starters, while Genoa's Nicolae Stanciu should also be in the XI.
Louis Munteanu will be bidding to earn just his second cap for the national side, while there could be debuts for both Stefan Baiaram and Andrei Borza.
As for Canada, head coach Marsch is set to name a strong starting team, although Davies is unavailable, with the Bayern defender working his way back from a long-term knee injury.
David has started the season impressively for Juventus, scoring once in two appearances, and the 25-year-old will feature in the final third of the field on Friday.
Meanwhile, there should also be starts for Villarreal's Tajon Buchanan and Porto's Stephen Eustaquio.
Romania possible starting lineup:
Moldovan; Ratiu, Sorescu, Ghita, Borza; Stanciu, Man, Marin; Dragus, Munteanu, Baiaram
Canada possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Laryea, Cornelius, Waterman, Bassong; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Hoilett; David, Nelson
We say: Romania 1-2 Canada
Romania will not be at full strength for this match, which should help Canada, and we are expecting Marsch's side to pick up the win in their first game since the disappointment of the Gold Cup.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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