Hungary, Kosovo or Bosnia, among the possible opponents

Ashley Davis16/11/2025

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Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Sunday, November 16, 2025, 08:47 / Updated Sunday, November 16, 2025 08:48

Bosnia – Romania 3-1. The “Tricolori” missed a huge chance on Saturday night to get into the books for second place and ease their route from the World Cup qualifiers. Now, Lucescu's men are certain to finish third in this group, where Austria and Bosnia will fight for the top spot, regardless of what happens in Tuesday's final matches.

For the tricolors, the American dream seems further and further away from being fulfilled, but there are still chances, where practical everything will be decided at the dam in March 2026. Romania he missed the opportunity to host the first match, the semifinal of the barrage, from March 26, but following the draw, they could host the final on March 31.

At this moment, the most likely opponents for Romania, who come from ballot 1, in the semi-finals of the pool, are Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Poland.
The script is not set in stone and can change in the last round of preliminaries. However, the chances are very small for the appearance of surprises again Romania will surely play away!

If it passes the first infernal obstacle and if it has a chance in the draw, Romania could host the World Cup play-off final on March 31, practically the last match where the ticket for the 2026 WC will be given.

The final of the bracket could be played in Bucharest

On Thursday, from 14:00 Romanian time, liveTEXT on GSP.ro, Lucescu's “tricolors” will know exactly who they will play in the play-off in March, for a ticket to the North American World Cup.

The draw takes place in Zurich and the 16 teams (12 group winners + 4 teams coming from the Nations League route) will be distributed into 4 value urns.

The play-off semi-final will take place over a single leg on March 26, 2026, while the North American World Cup decider will take place on March 31, 2026.

For semifinalsthe situation is clear and the top seed has the advantage, who will play at home: each team in Pot 1 will play at home a team in Pot 4, while each team in Pot 2 will play at home a team in Pot 3.

Further, to determine the hosts of the play-off finals, lots will be drawn. Practically, regardless of whether the seeded teams will reach the final or not, the home team will be determined at the draw, without the advantage of the team considered better.

So, with a chance at the draw and a big result away from the semifinals, Romania could fight for the World Cup spot right in front of 50,000 people, in Bucharest.

Opponents could possibly include Hungary, Kosovo or even Bosnia and Herzegovina.