MX23RW : Monday, November 18 07:50:18| >> :120:84967:84967:
[monks data]
Attendance: 36,198
Spain national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Nov 18, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Romania national football team

5-0

Fabian (8'), Moreno (33', 43'), Rus (45' og.), Oyarzabal (92')
FT(HT: 4-0)

Preview: Spain vs. Romania - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Spain's Euro 2020 qualifier with Romania on Monday, including a prediction, team news and predicted lineups.

Spain will look to round off their Euro 2020 qualification campaign in style when they meet Group F rivals Romania at the Wanda Metropolitano on Monday night.

Robert Moreno's side guaranteed their place at next year's finals with a 7-0 win over Malta earlier this week, while Romania's hopes of reaching successive European Championships took a significant blow following a 2-0 defeat to Sweden on Thursday.


Match preview

Spain coach Robert Moreno on October 12, 2019© Reuters

Spanish football was rocked earlier this year by news of Luis Enrique's daughter passing away, two months after the former Barcelona star resigned from the role of national coach to focus on family matters.

The arrival of Moreno over the summer has added to the sense that this team remains in a period of instability, having gone through three different managers since June 2018.

Indeed, a pair of draws away at Norway and Sweden last month, which saw Spain concede and then score injury-time winners respectively, indicates that this is a team currently lacking a sense of assurance when it comes to game management.

What this team does not lack, however, is a wealth of young talent at its disposal, with the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal, Dani Olmo and Pau Torres all demonstrating a capacity to succeed on the international stage.

With this game against Romania not bringing any serious pressure, Moreno may end up handing the aforementioned youngsters further chances to impress as Spain prepares for Euro 2020.

Ianis Hagi in action for Romania against Malta during a Euro 2020 qualifier in June 2019© Reuters

For Romania, however, there is a strong sense of uncertainty over the future following a disappointing end to what started off as a promising Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

Having won four of their last seven games ahead of facing Sweden, Cosmin Contra's side knew that a home win would have taken them ahead of Sweden into second place ahead of their final group game.

As it was, Romania produced a lacklustre performance in front of their own fans, failing to mount an adequate response to going 2-0 down after 35 minutes.

Moreover, the game was temporarily halted by the referee when Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak was subjected to racist abuse after being introduced with 12 minutes to go in Bucharest, leaving a bad taste that has become far too familiar in Europe this season.

It is against this sad backdrop that Romania must travel to Madrid knowing that they will need other results to go their way if they are to qualify for Euro 2020 as one of the best third-placed teams.

Recent Spain form: WWWDDW
Recent Romania form: WLWWDL


Team News

Spain's Marco Asensio in action with Sweden's Emil Forsberg in their Euro 2020 qualifier on June 10, 2019© Reuters

Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio continues to sit on the sidelines after suffering a severe knee ligament injury over the summer, while teammate Nacho will not return until January.

Valencia duo Rodrigo and Carlos Soler are ruled out along with Iago Aspas, who continues to recover from a back injury.

For Romania, Denis Alibec looks likely to start the game after the forward demonstrated some bright moments during a 15-minute cameo against Sweden.

Ianis Hagi, son of World Cup 1994 star Gheorghe Hagi, is also expected to receive a start having come on at half time in Romania's last game.

Spain possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Carvajal, Torres, Ramos, Gaya; Busquets, Thiago, Niguez; Oyarzabal, Alcacer, Olmo

Romania possible starting lineup:
Tatarusanu; Mogos, Rus, Nedelcearu, Bancu; Deac, Baluta, Hagi, Mitrita; Puscas, Alibec


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We say: Spain 3-0 Romania

Romania will certainly put up a good fight against a team with a few fresh faces, but the visitors might lack an element of bite in the final third, which is likely to pave the way for Spain to dominate the game and score a few goals.



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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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