Romania vs Bosnia & Herzegovina

Arena Nationala is the venue as Romania and Bosnia & Herzegovina go head-to-head in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture. 

Romania’s 27-year wait for a World Cup appearance continues, with their last participation dating back to 1998. Their road to the 2026 tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada presents a promising opportunity, as they’ve landed in a manageable qualification group alongside San Marino, Cyprus, Austria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ranked second in the group, the Romanians are well-positioned to secure at least a play-off spot, though their main goal remains automatic qualification. A strong start against Bosnia seems likely, given they’ve won four of their six H2Hs (L2). Adding to their confidence, Mircea Lucescu’s men enter this campaign on a six-game winning streak and have triumphed in five of their last seven home World Cup qualifying matches.

In the meantime, Bosnia last appeared at a World Cup in 2014, but their recent form has been dreadful, failing to win since October 2023 (D2, L10). However, ten of those 12 fixtures came against teams ranked higher than Romania (#38) in FIFA’s rankings. Their World Cup qualifying record offers some hope, with just three losses in their last eight matches, though they’ve only won once in that stretch (D4). Encouragingly, their three most recent World Cup qualifying victories have all come away from home, fueling the belief they can finally avoid defeat in Romania after three previous failed attempts (L3). Furthermore, the Dragons have found the net in eight successive World Cup qualifiers as the designated away side.