Article by Robert Vîrdol – Published Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 4:37 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 4:37 p.m.
Paul Codrea, 44, analyzed Romania's chances ahead of the World Cup play-off match against Turkey. The former Romanian international is convinced that Mircea Lucescu's team (80 years old) is leaving with a second chance in the duel in Istanbul.
The duel with Turkey is very close, and Paul Codrea spoke to Gazeta Sporturilor about Romania's chances. The former midfielder said what would be the weak point of Mircea Lucescu's students, but also how much a World Cup qualification would mean.
Also, Codrea mentioned that Romania has already shown, from the preliminaries for the World Cup, that it did not deserve to reach the final tournament.
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Turkey – Romania will be played on Thursday, March 26, from 19:00, match broadcast by Prima TV. If we win, we play the 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, the best reports and a series of multimedia correspondence.
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“We as a country are happy to be here. Given that we didn't qualify from the group, this is an extra chance for us and we have to try to make the most of it. We don't have to hide behind our fingers, Turkey is more valuable. With only one game, I think we have a 49% chance and they have 51%.”
Being a decisive match, you have to score. Attack is probably our weak point. Turkey are playing at home and they will come at us, we must not rely only on their mistakes. I think our attacking strength leaves a little to be desired. I saw the Turks and they left a good impression on me, even when they beat Spain 6-0.
It's a tight match and anything can happen, favorites don't always win. Another problem was what happened to the goalkeepers. When the best players are not available, it's a big problem, it's not like a club here. I don't know if it will destabilize because others will have their chance and they can take advantage of it. It can be someone's chance to stand out.
For any generation it would mean a lot to qualify for the World Cup. There is nothing special about this generation compared to the others, although it is called the “Soul Generation”. The others from before what to call themselves? It's more of a marketing aspect.
“In the group we proved that we didn't deserve to qualify”
It means a lot to go to the World Cup because I haven't been in a long time, but it's hard. We must know our worth. In the group we proved that we did not deserve to qualifyif we won, we would go to the World Cup, and that says something about our football. Now we have this chance through the League of Nations and we must not waste it”, said Paul Codrea for Gazeta Sporturilor.
Paul Codrea CV
Images from the career of Paul Codrea
In his career, Paul Codrea played 244 matches in the first two leagues in Italy, 133 of which in Serie A. The Romanian played for Genoa, Palermo, Turin, Perugia, Siena and Bari.
He also has 44 matches in the Romanian national team, for which he scored a single goal. The former attacking midfielder also featured at Euro 2008, when he was used in all three group matches.
In addition to his experience abroad, he also spent time in Romania at Dinamo, Poli Timișoara, FC Argeș, Rapid and Asu Poli Timișoara.
