Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Wednesday, 04 March 2026 22:11 / Updated on Wednesday, 04 March 2026 22:28
Gică Popescu (58 years old), the president of Faru, believes that Romania's chances in the semi-final play-off with Turkey, played at the Beşiktaș stadium, are equal. The member of the “Golden Generation” spoke about the importance of the game for Romanian football and about the chances of the “tricolors” in the duel with the Turks.
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Turkey – Romania will take place on March 26, from 19:00, at Beşiktaş's stadium. The game will be liveTEXT on GSP.ro, with information from the spot. If they get past the Turks, the “tricolors” will play the final of the pool with the winner between Slovakia and Kosovo.
Gică Popescu prefaced the duel: “The Turks are superior to us”
“There is very little left until the 26th. Indeed, it is an extremely important exam for our football in general and a defining one for this national team, which, after the performances at the last European Championship, gave us hope that it can be a string of performances.
It will be a very difficult match in Istanbul, because, from a value point of view, with all due respect to our national team, the Turks are superior to us. Valoric speaking. But, taking into account that it is only one match, I think the chances are 50-50.
I wish Mircea Lucescu to qualify the current national team to the final tournament of the World Championship, because even he, however rich his activity as a coach, lacks a final tournament of the World Championship. I am convinced that he wants to have an exit from the scene with such a supreme event in football”, said Gică Popescu, according to as.ro.
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In his playing career, Gică Popescu performed at FC Barcelona (where he was captain), PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Tottenham. For the Romanian national team, “Baciul” collected 115 selections and scored 16 goals, being part of the “Golden Generation” at three World and two European Championships.
