The 0% barbarian challenges the 100% Lucescu!

While many European national teams are still in action in the Nations League these days, either playing for a place in the Final Four or for promotion/relegation, the first UEFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup are already on the program on Friday. In Group H, in which Austria will also be competing from June, the opening game will be a potentially decisive clash. Ahead of Romania’s game against Bosnia, many experts are tipping one of the two teams to finish in second place and thus qualify for the mini-tournaments for further World Cup tickets.

Since 2024, the national teams have long been no strangers to German football fans either. The Bosnians were shown the limits in the Nations League preliminary round by the DFB team in two games with a total of nine goals conceded. Romania, on the other hand, surprisingly reached the round of 16 at the European Championship finals in the Federal Republic. In addition, the “tricolors” played a strong NL group stage, which can also be cited as an argument for making a prediction between Romania and Bosnia for the world rankings of 38.

As mentioned at the beginning, the Romania vs. Bosnia odds on the three-way market suggest that the hosts are favorites, who have also regularly performed well in the National Arena in Bucharest recently. Nevertheless, the guests from the Balkans should definitely not be underestimated due to the individual quality at their disposal. If you think it’s too risky to bet on a winner, you can use the Bet Builder in the Betano app to put together your own match combos. If you don’t yet have an account with the provider mentioned, the Betano deposit bonus and a €20 free bet are also available to you.

Romania – Statistics & current form

In the run-up to the 2024 European Championship, the Romanian national team was still viewed relatively critically at home. Although they qualified for a major final round for the first time in eight years, fans feared that the tournament in Germany would quickly come to an end without any real sense of achievement. However, the “Tricolorri” proved all their critics wrong and advanced to become one of the positive surprises of the preliminary round. With four points from three games, they survived a European Championship preliminary round for the first time since 2000. Nevertheless, they were knocked out in the round of 16 by the Netherlands after a 3-0 defeat.

Romania under Lucescu still with a 100% winning rate

The powers that be would have liked to have extended the contract with successful coach Edward Iordanescu, but he refused to extend his contract and was eventually replaced by a living legend. Almost 40 years (!) after his first term as Romania coach ended, Mircea Lucescu is back at the helm of the national team at the ripe old age of 79.

The veteran, who among other things coached Shakhtar Donetsk for many years, managed the Turkish national team and even spent a short time on the bench at Inter Milan in the last millennium, has an impeccable record so far. The Romanians have won all six international matches under his leadership in the NL preliminary rounds. Although they have only played Cyprus, Kosovo and Lithuania twice each, a goal difference of 18:3 and five handicap wins are undoubtedly an indication that the “tricolors” are destined for more.

Furthermore, it must be stated that the team, ranked 38th in the world, has not lost any of the last eleven home internationals and has thus not been beaten at home since November 2022. Moreover, the last World Cup appearance was a whopping 27 years ago, and the squad, with figureheads such as Denis Man, Denis Dragus and Razvan Marin, is once again quite something, so there is plenty of motivation to do well in the World Cup qualifiers. In my opinion, the most recent impressions and performances are reason enough to change the odds on the home win between Romania and Bosnia.

Expected line-up:
Nita; Ratiu, Burca, Sorescu, Bancu; R. Marin, M. Marin, Hagi, Mitrita, Sut; Dragus

Bosnia – Statistics & current form

For the Bosnian national football team, 2024 was not nearly as successful as it was for the Romanians. Quite the opposite, in fact, as they did not win a single one of the nine international matches they played. In addition to two draws, there were eight defeats. The Bosnians lost to Ukraine in the playoff semi-final for the European Championship, conceded two test match defeats and ultimately also relegated from the A Division of the Nations League with just two points from six encounters. At least they managed a respectable 1-1 draw against the Netherlands at the end of the group stage.

Bosnia is still waiting for its first win under Barbarez

However, the time for excuses for coach Sergej Barbarez and technical commissioner Zvjezdan Misimovic ends with the away game in Bucharest on Friday evening. The two former Bundesliga stars have so far asked for time and always referred to the development process of the “golden lilies”. However, at the latest since this World Cup qualification, those in charge will be judged by results. But I think it is rather unlikely that a prediction of Barbarez’s first victory as national coach will come true in the match between Romania and Bosnia, of all things.

In particular, there has not been much for the “Zmajevi” to get out of their away games in recent months (and years). In their four away games in 2024, they conceded 15 goals. In the course of the 2023 European Championship qualifiers, they also lost four out of five away games. Among other things, the Bosnians lost 4-1 in Luxembourg, 1-0 to Iceland and 2-0 in Slovakia. Six clean sheets in the last nine away games serve as a further point of reference for focusing on the betting odds for under-goals between Romania and Bosnia. The presence of Dzeko or Demirovic does not change this much either.

The 74th-ranked team in the world will be keen to keep things stable at the back after the last disappointments and in view of the serious away weakness. We can therefore expect a relatively uneventful first 45 minutes. If you ultimately believe in another Bosnian defeat without scoring a goal, you can bet an attractive 2.95 at Winamax on a 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 victory for the “Tricolori”.

Expected line-up:
Vasilj; Kolasinac, Bicakcic, Dedic, Katic; Tahirovic, Hajradinovic, Burnic, Gigovic; Dzeko, Demirovic

Romania – Bosnia head to head / H2H record

To date, six international matches have taken place between the selection teams from Romania and Bosnia. In five cases, the respective home team was able to prevail. Only the very first meeting, over 20 years ago, was won by Romania in Bosnia. Overall, the “tricolor” leads the H2h with four wins and two losses. The last direct duel is less than three years in the past and ended 4-1 for last year’s European Championship participants, who even won all three home internationals against the “Zmajevi” by at least two goals.

Romania – Bosnia Tip

The Austrian national football team, which is currently competing with Serbia for a vacant place in the A-League of the next Nations League edition, will be keeping a close eye on Bucharest on Friday. In their World Cup qualifying group H, Romania and Bosnia are the two teams that are considered most likely to seriously endanger the Red-Whites’ group victory. Although the Bosnians – based on the market value of the nominated squad – may have slightly more individual quality to offer, the favorites are the hosts.

The “tricolors” played a strong European Championship and then, under new coach Lucescu, won all six NL group stage matches with 18 (!) goals scored. The “Zmajevi”, on the other hand, lost seven of their last nine away games, were shut out six times, and are still waiting for their first win under Sergej Barbarez.

On the one hand, I expect a home win and, on the other, I am still taking a risk with my Romania vs. Bosnia tip. For the 1X & Under 1.5 (1st half), there is a 1.72 return, which is worth a stake of six units to me.