Mircea Lucescu's big surprise in the lot » Debutant at 29 years old, the club hasn't given a player to the national team since '94!

Two years ago he was playing in the second league, now he is going to be involved in a crucial match for the senior national team.

Marius Coman from Maramure is the big surprise prepared by Mircea Lucescu for the match – or matches – that can bring the “tricolors” back to the World Championship after a wait of 28 years.

He will play the backup role of Daniel Bîrligea, expected to start from the first minute of the match in Istanbul.

• UTA has not given a player to the first national team for 32 years, since February 2, 1994, when Adrian Ungur played in a 1-0 draw with South Korea.

Marius Coman, Mircea Lucescu's big surprise for the dam: summoned for the first time at 29 years old

Coman's appearance in the lot was possible thanks to a confluence of circumstances:

Denis Drăguș is suspended for the first official match, the one against Turkey, and Denis Alibec and Louis Munteanu are injured.

Coman had never been called up to the national team before, not even at junior or youth level.

His profile is a strong, punchy top with some glue to the gap. This season he scored 7 goals in 21 appearances in the championship, 5 times with the head, twice with the right foot.

He doesn't shoot often, averaging once every 61 minutes on the pitch, but he's unusually efficient, managing to score an average of every 3.4 shots.

Out of the total of 24 shots dispatched in this championship season, 11 hit the goal, accuracy 45.8%.

Coman played at the first league level last season as well, in Sepsi OSK's shirt, but his output since then has been lower, 4 goals in 38 league games.

For most of his career he played in the second division, where he boasts 39 goals in 134 matches.