Romania edge Poland 2-1 as Cicaldau and Man score four minutes apart
Poland had more of the ball in Bucharest, but Romania struck twice between the 68th and 72nd minutes. Regula pulled one back before the hosts held on.
Romania beat Poland 2-1 at the National Arena in Bucharest in Nations League Group B4. It was a tense, stop-start game settled by a quick double from the hosts midway through the second half.
Two goals in four minutes
After a goalless first half, Romania went ahead on 68 minutes through Alexandru Cicaldau and doubled the lead on 72 through Dennis Man. Poland responded and Marcel Regula, booked in the first half, pulled one back on 82 minutes, but they could not find an equaliser.
Plenty of fouls and seven bookings
It was a physical game: 21 fouls by Romania and 16 by Poland. Five Romania players were booked, Radu Dragusin (2'), Tudor Baluta (49'), Ianis Hagi (57'), Andrei Ratiu (61') and Lisav Eissat (93'), along with two from Poland, Marcel Regula (34') and Jakub Kiwior (51').
The stats favoured Poland for possession (56%), shots (15 to 11) and corners (7 to 4), but Romania were more accurate, with 4 shots on target to 3.
Stats
| Stat | Romania | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 11 | 15 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 3 |
| Possession | 44% | 56% |
| Corners | 4 | 7 |
| Fouls | 21 | 16 |
| Offsides | 2 | 0 |
| Saves | 2 | 2 |
| Pass accuracy | 75% | 80% |
Scorers
- 68'Alexandru Cicaldau (Romania)
- 72'Dennis Man (Romania)
- 82'Marcel Regula (Poland)
Bookings and dismissals
- 2'🟨 Radu Dragusin (Romania), booked
- 34'🟨 Marcel Regula (Poland), booked
- 49'🟨 Tudor Baluta (Romania), booked
- 51'🟨 Jakub Kiwior (Poland), booked
- 57'🟨 Ianis Hagi (Romania), booked
- 61'🟨 Andrei Ratiu (Romania), booked
- 90'+3'🟨 Lisav Eissat (Romania), booked
Line-ups
Romania (4-1-3-2): Hindrich; Ratiu, Dragusin, Baluta, Coubis; Eissat; Cicaldau, Hagi, Dragomir; Man, Coman.
Substitutions: 67' Marius Dumitru Corbu for Ianis Hagi; 67' Daniel Birligea for Florinel Coman; 73' Ianis Stoica for Dennis Man; 81' Matei Ilie for Alexandru Cicaldau; 81' Olimpiu Morutan for Andrei Ratiu.
Poland (4-4-2): Dragowski; Cash, Potulski, Kiwior, Kubiak; Regula, Nowak, Szymanski, Zalewski; Swiderski, Lewandowski.
Substitutions: 70' Bartosz Mazurek for Karol Swiderski; 70' Adrian Benedyczak for Robert Lewandowski; 76' Arkadiusz Pyrka for Matty Cash; 90'+1' Mateusz Zukowski for Wiktor Nowak; 90'+1' Michal Skoras for Marcel Regula.