page_title: Romania national football team
section_title: 1994 World Cup
hierarchical_section_title: Romania national football team / History / Golden Team era / 1994 World Cup
caption_attribution_description: Stamp of Romania; 1994; commemorative stamp of the issue "1994 World Championship Soccer in the USA"; stamp motive with a soccer match scene and the national flags of the participant teams in the preliminary group A: USA, Switzerland, Colombia, and Romania.; stamp postmarked Stamp: Michel: No. 4992; Yvert &amp; Tellier: No. 4170; Scott: No. 3923 Color: multicolored Watermark: none Nominal value: 90 L (Lei) Postage validity: from 17 June 1994 until&#160;? Stamp picture size (printed area of a single stamp without signature line): 28.0 x 42.5 mm
context_page_description: The Romania national football team represents Romania in international men's football competition, and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation. They are colloquially known as Tricolorii.
  Romania is one of the only four national teams from Europe—the other three being Belgium, France, Yugoslavia—that took part in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. Since that performance, Romania have qualified for the 1934, 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994, and 1998 editions. Led by playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, the team's finest hour came in 1994 when it reached the quarter-finals. They were eliminated by Sweden on a penalty shoot-out after having previously defeated Argentina.
  At the European Championships, Romania's best performance was in 2000 when they advanced to the quarter-finals from a group with Germany, Portugal and England, before falling to eventual runners-up Italy. They also reached the last eight in 1960 and 1972, and qualified for the 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2016 tournaments.
context_section_description: Romania missed out on Euro 1992. Scotland qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in Sofia against Bulgaria, with Nasko Sirakov's equalizer sealing their fate.
  Romania was successful, however, in reaching another World Cup in the United States in 1994. Despite losing in Belgium and suffering a heavy 5–2 defeat in Czechoslovakia, Romania went into their last match at Cardiff Arms Park with Wales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from Gheorghe Hagi and Dean Saunders meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty. Paul Bodin of Swindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2–1, Florin Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were eliminated.
   
  At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages, with Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu and Ilie Dumitrescu on form. Romania beat Colombia at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in Los Angeles 3–1. All but one of Romania's games took place in California, and they were awarded the advantage of playing most of their games in Los Angeles. Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline. Adolfo Valencia pulled one back with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third.
  In Detroit's indoor Pontiac Silverdome, the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena. Switzerland, acclimatized after having already played the hosts there, outran Romania in the second half and turned a 1–1 half time score into a surprising 4–1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1–0 in Pasadena with an early Dan Petrescu goal.
  In the Round of 16 knockout stage they faced Argentina in Los Angeles who were shorn of Diego Maradona who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs. Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach Anghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes, one a superbly subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders. In between, Gabriel Batistuta scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a superb third on the counterattack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper Luis Islas. Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win.
  Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again, in the quarter-final against Sweden in San Francisco. With just 13 minutes to play, a tight match opened up as Sweden's Thomas Brolin scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall by Håkan Mild for Brolin to smash in. Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear. In extra time Răducioiu scored again after a mistake by Patrik Andersson, but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant striker Kennet Andersson climbed above goalkeeper Florin Prunea to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replace Bogdan Stelea, whose confidence was shattered by the 4–1 loss to the Swiss. In the shoot-out, Dan Petrescu and Miodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved by Thomas Ravelli and Sweden went through.
caption: Romanian team 1994 FIFA World Cup stamp
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