Article by Cezar Titor – Published Saturday, February 14, 2026, 4:31 p.m. / Updated Saturday, February 14, 2026, 4:31 p.m.
Raul Opruț, 28, Dinamo's left back, has had an excellent start to the year and is among the main candidates for the call-up for the tie with Turkey in March.
At this moment, the priority is Mircea Lucescu's health, and the Romanian Football Federation will decide next week who will be on the bench for the “tricolors” in the spring double. Until then, the seconds of “Il Luce”, Ionel Gane and Florin Constantinovici, closely monitor the matches in the Super League and send constant reports to the selector.
Raul Opruț has a good chance of being in the team of the “tricolors” for the tie with Turkey
Opruț is in pole-position for a new call-up and even if there will be a change on the technical benchthe left defender would continue to be proposed by the national team staff. The other options for this position are Nicușor Bancu (Universitatea Craiova) and Alex Chipciu (Universitatea Cluj).
In addition to solid defensive developments, Opruț also started to contribute offensively: scored a “doppietta” at Sibiu in the championship, provided a decisive assist with Craiova and scored again in the Romanian Cup, against Hermannstadt, when he made it 2-0 with a powerful shot from the edge of the box after a corner. In total, in the current season, he has 4 goals and 2 assists.
Opruț debuted for the first national team on November 17, 2022, in a friendly lost to Slovenia, 1-2. Since then, he has made four more selections, the last one in the fall of 2025, when he played a half in the friendly with the Republic of Moldova.
I am in a good moment as personal achievementsI'm glad we manage to win games, when I score. I was left with a bitter taste after the goal assist against Craiova, I really wanted to win, but I am in good shape at the moment.
– Raul Opruț, after the game with Hermannstadt, in the Romanian Cup
