Article by Marius Mărgărit – published Monday, October 13, 2025, 00:56 / Updated Monday, October 13, 2025 01:25
Against all records and against any calculations and statistics, I hit the Austriathe leader who seemed to be untouched. Because, perhaps for the first time this year, Romania was a team of simple soldiers, who gave everyone and everyone they could.
Bîrligea was beaten like a madman and when he had no chance, Ianis was better defensive, plus the final focus, Dragomir covered the spaces well, like Marin, Mihăilă ran until exhausted, man did fewer, but he tried more than usual, the defenders were not given a chance.
From the 60th minute I was sure that Mircea Lucescu will not make changes. It was 0-0, things were going to this white draw that kept us in the books anyway, the gear was working. Why change, if he could not lose …
He forced the injury to Mihai Popescu, and in the last minutes he thought that it would not be bad to remove Bîrliga, exhausted. He didn't risk anything. He did not necessarily make her attack, but to have a defensive freshness, to start the pressure there, in front.
Too bad that in the last 20 meters we still lack that drop drop. But even so, I outclassed Austria on occasions, attitude, and the guests only punched. And that stear, somewhere 30 meters from our gate, without any danger. Sabitzer was just an incident.
I do not know if these 3 points can bring us a little more than the second place in the group. Although the “time” has been gathered, and now the Austrians can no longer be sure of the leader's chair. This means he has to play to the end, and that suits us.
However, we should still beat in Bosnia- Herzegovina, or at least not to lose, otherwise this victory would be just another beautiful evening. But more important is that the boys understood that nothing is impossible if you put soul, tendons, muscles, pain and that desire not to give in, not to give up any duel.
Because, in the end, football is a team sport. And that was Romania, a team. Ghiță's goal is a bonus. Finally, I thought to the end, I tried.
We were not happy to get out of this attempt. And that should really give us moral and confidence for the dam.
Once again, Mircea Lucescu, increasingly irritable, as if uncertain, tired, tired to give explanations, proved to us that not close to the final chapter and that his story can have a “a little longer”. Some say that it was a strategy, that he intentionally upset things, that he had attracted the pressure on him to take away from the shoulders of the players. Personally, I don't think so. But either.
It is important that his changes came out in the starting formula, that he managed to make his own to play one for all and all for one. We have a team.
We do not break the clouds but we can still fight with the bigger ones. Together. And Mircea Lucescu is still able to shake pride, memories and reinvent. Even if he announced that if Romania does not qualify directly, leave someone else at the dam. I don't think so …
