Romania national under-21 football team

The Romania national under-21 football team, also known as Romania under-21s or Romania U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the Romania national football team.

This team is for Romanian players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for Romania at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player has not played a senior competitive game in his previous country.)

The U-21 team came into existence, following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions, in 1976. Romania qualified for the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and under Victor Pițurcă reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by the Netherlands. Romania had been 1–0 up, but were eventually beaten 2–1. The Romanian lineup included players like: Cosmin Contra, Bogdan Lobonț, Cătălin Munteanu, Ionel Dănciulescu and Ion Luțu.

Romania once again qualified unbeaten for the finals after topping their group in the qualifying series. The Romanians reached semi-final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the first time in their history in the 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro but eventually lost 4–2 to defending champions Germany who scored twice in the dying moments. Romania qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics for their first Olympics since 1964. Overall, Romania was a revelation at the tournament, beating both England and Croatia (4-2 and 4–1), and looked on course for a shock before Germany fought back to make the final.

Romania U21s do not have a permanent home. They play in stadia dotted all around Romania, in an attempt to encourage younger fans in all areas of the country to get behind Romania. Because of the lower demand compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds can be used.

Football at the Summer Olympics was first played officially in 1908. The Olympiads between 1896 and 1980 was only open for amateur players. The 1984 and 1988 tournaments were open to players with no appearances in the FIFA World Cup. After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 or U21 teams with a maximum of three older players. See Romania national football team for competition record from 1908 until 1988.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Includes both qualification phase and final tournament of UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

***Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

The following is a list of matches in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group A matches against Kosovo and San Marino on 27 and 31 March 2026 respectively.

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals are correct as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Spain

Players born in or after 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players have also been called up in the past to the Romania under-21 squad and remain eligible to play in the qualification matches for 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

Notes

• ^INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury
• ^SUS = Player is serving suspension
• ^WD = Player withdrew from the squad
• ^COV = Player withdrawn from the squad due to positive COVID-19 test
• Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team.

• Romania national football team
• Romania Olympic football team

• UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
• FRF.ro