1
Romania’s new generation
Semi-finalists at last year’s
European U21 Championship,
Romania have a fine crop of young
talent coming through. The list includes
Rangers midfielder Ianis Hagi, Reading
striker George Puscas, wingers Dennis
Man and Florinel Coman, midfield
enforcer Alexandru Cicaldau and
centre-back Ionut Nedelcearu.
Outstanding young keeper Andrei
Ionut Radu has just joined Parma
on loan from Internazionale, after
an impressive year at Genoa.2
Iceland’s golden oldies
In contrast, Iceland’s spine is
packed with thirty-somethings who
were expected to throw in the towel
some time ago. But remarkably, the
likes of keeper Hannes Halldorsson
(36), defenders Kari Arnason (37) and
Ari Skulason (33), and midfielder Emil
Hallfredsson (36) are still going strong.
Coach Erik Hamren initially wondered
if the group still had the competitive
fire burning in them, but they remain
determined to reach their third
tournament in a row.3
Radoi’s tough choices
Parachuted in late last year afterCosmin Contra was sacked, Romania
coach Mirel Radoi’s biggest dilemma is
blending youth with experience. Local
critics are already accusing him of
having too much faith in old hands
like Dragos Grigore and Alin Tosca.
A particularly thorny dilemma for
Radoi is his choice of goalie, with the
highly-experienced Ciprian Tatarusanu- currently a back-up at Milan –
Iceland v Romania
competing with the highly-rated
Radu and Silviu LungJr. of Turkish
side Kayserispor.4
Iceland’s new hope
After spending much of last season
on the sidelines with a complicated
ankle injury, 23-year-old AZ winger
Albert Gudmundsson has been showing
no signs of rustiness in the early part
of the new campaign. Indeed, in a
Champions League qualifying victory
over Viktoria Plzen, he was the player
who turned the tide, coming off the
bench to score twice in extra-time. A
full international since the age of19, he
already has a hat-trick for his country,
versus Indonesia inJanuary 2018.5
Mitrita: heads or tails?
Maverick attacking-third ace
Alexandru Mitrita should, in a perfect
world, be Romania’s trump card. The
25-year-old New York City FC winger
or number ten fizzes with ball skills,
imagination and match-winning class.
But he can also be something of a
liability, unwilling to track back and too
selfish in possession. His coach in New
York, the former Celtic manager Ronny
Deila, finds him exasperating, but he
could be a match-winner.WORLD SERVICERising star...Iceland’s Albert GudmundssonGolden generation...
Romania beat England
to reach last year’s
Euro U21s semi-finals