Change in the Romania U21 squad » Urgently summoned a few hours after playing in the Superliga

Ashley Davis24/03/2026

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Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 09:52 / Updated on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 09:52

Romania U21 is preparing for the matches with Kosovo U21 and San Marino U21, from the preliminaries of the European Championship. The first takes place on March 27 (20:00), while the second will be played 4 days later. On Tuesday, the national team, through the official channels, announced a last-minute change in the squad of Costin Curelea (41 years old).

Tony Strata (21 years old), the right defender of Vitoria Guimaraes, was injured, and Andrei Dorobanțu (21 years old), Unirii Slobozia footballer, was summoned in his place.

The news comes for him a few hours after he played a half in the match won by his team against those from Oțelul Galați, score 2-1.

Andrei Dorobanțu, summoned by Curelea to the U21 national team instead of Tony Strata

“Change in the national youth squad. Tony Strata (Vitória Guimarães) will no longer join the squad led by Costin Curelea after claiming medical problems after his team's last match in the championship against Benfica.

Andrei Dorobanțu, a player at Unirea Slobozia, was appointed in his place“, FRF transmitted.

Halfway through the qualifiers for next summer's final tournament, Romania U21 is in 4th place. With 8 points obtained in 5 games, Costin Curelea's team is below Spain, Finland and Kosovo.

The winner of the group would go directly to the final tournament, while the teams in 2nd place would play a qualifying play-off.

The 2027 European U21 Championship will take place from June 11 to July 4 in Serbia and Albania.

The batch called by Costin Curelea:

Goalkeepers: Ștefan Lefter (Cluj University), Rafael Munteanu (Constanța Lighthouse), Adrian Franculescu (Steaua Bucharest)
defense: Andrei Dorobanțu (Unirea Slobozia), David Maftei (Farul Constanța), Matteo Duțu (Dinamo), Ionut Pop (Concordia Chiajna), Mario Tudose (CFC Arges), Lisav Eissat (Maccabi Haifa | Israel), Andrei Borza (Rapid), Mark Țuțu (UTA Arad)
midfielders: Alexandru Musi (Dinamo), Lorenzo Biliboc (CFR Cluj), David Matei (University of Craiova), Luca Băsceanu (University of Craiova), Ștefan Bană (Oțelul Galați), Adrian Mazilu (Dinamo), Cristian Mihai (Dinamo), Alin Boțogan (Petrolul), Cătălin Vulturar (Rapid), Luca Szimionaș (Hellas Verona | Italy)
Strikers: Atanas Trică (Cluj University), Ioan Vermeșan (Hellas Verona | Italy)