Article by Robert Vîrdol – Published Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 2:06 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 2:07 p.m.
Gino Iorgulescu, 69 years old, said what he expects from the Turkey-Romania duel. The president of the LPF is confident in Mircea Lucescu's team (80 years old) and hopes that the “tricolors” will reach the World Cup.
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Turkey – Romania will be played on March 26, from 19:00, match broadcast by Prima TV. If we win, we play the World Cup qualification final against Slovakia/Kosovo on March 31, 2026.
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Gazeta Sporturilor has 6 experienced reporters in Istanbul, who deliver the most important information, reports and a series of multimedia correspondence.
The Romanian national team has not reached a World Cup playoff since the one with Greece in 2013, which they lost with a score of 4-2 on aggregate. Now, the “tricolors” have to get past Turkey, and then beat the winner of the duel Slovakia or Kosovo.
In a dialogue with Gazeta Sporturilor, Gino Iorgulescu spoke about Romania's chances in the match against Turkey and said that the tricolors have history on their side. He also remembered the duel from 1985, when he scored in the goal of the Janissaries.
Gino Iorgulescu: “Our asset is history”
Gino Iorgulescu, president of the LPF
“Hope dies last and if we mobilize and catch a good day and overcome the bad luck with the goalkeeper, we can make a good impression. In football you have a chance, but there are always many factors that can intervene, even the climate or luck. If we have a little chance and respect our tactics, plus what Mircea Lucescu says, we might be lucky, but we must not demobilize because they are playing for stronger teams.
We have to show our worth and not let them play their game, and then we have a chance. We are trying to mobilize to go to the second game, and then to the World Cup. Our asset is history, we beat the Turks, even I scored in 1985. We kind of beat them and we have the record on our side, which is a great asset for us. I, as a central defender, gave them the goal.
It would be good to have the form from those times, maybe ours can also see the old matches and mobilize more. There are many things that can bring pluses. Anything is possible in this match, football is full of surprises. We have to trust the team and Mircea Lucescu, because no one has his experience. I don't give predictions, but I hope we qualify”, said Gino Iorgulescu.
Gino Iorgulescu scored against Turkey in 1985
Gino Iorgulescu in Sport – SC Bacău, 1988 (photo: GSP archive)
In the preliminaries for the 1986 World Cup, Romania played two matches with the Turkish national team. The “Tricolors” prevailed in the round with a score of 3-0, and in the return with a score of 3-1.
Among the scorers of the second match was Gino Iorgulescu, who opened the scoring. The other scorers were Marcel Coraș and Ștefan Iovan. Mircea Lucescu is also on the bank of Romania.
