The head coach of the Romanian national team, Mircea Lucescu, spoke about the reasons for the defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first round of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup – 0:1.
Mircea Lucescu“This is a real disappointment, as we wanted to start the qualifying campaign with a victory. We dominated the game, but the opponent took advantage of one moment when we lost concentration.
We completely controlled the match; we dominated. We have technical players, we control the ball well, and we need to improve this aspect. I noticed to the guys that they lacked patience with the ball and tried to solve certain episodes individually.
After they took the lead, the opponent constantly wasted time, and the referee allowed them to do so. We requested a penalty, but the referee was too lenient towards Bosnia. If there is a stop in the game, the player should leave the field to recover. However, they stayed in the game.
There were two controversial situations: first, the ball hit the defender's hand, and then there was an episode with Janis's pass. But we were not awarded a penalty. All this affected the final result.
But I cannot be angry with my players. They tried very hard; they wanted to win. We move on. Ahead is the return match, and we will try to take revenge. We have many more games ahead, and we have to be ready,” Lucescu said.
