Romania vs Chile 31/05/18

31 May 2018

Two sides that failed to secure their spot in Russia after disastrous qualifying campaign are set for a face-to-face encounter at the Sportzentrum Graz-Weinzödl in Graz, with Romania look to take on Chile. Romania, who finished fourth in their qualifying group behind Poland, Denmark, and Montenegro, have been involved in four friendly matches in 2018 winning only one of them while losing two times in the process. On the other hand, Chile, who had the ticket for Russia virtually booked ahead of the final qualifying fixture and that miserable 3-0 defeat to Brazil, have already played two friendly games against the European teams this year. After a tight 2-1 victory over Sweden, La Roja played out a 0-0 draw with Denmark, and Reinaldo Rueda hopes to lead his side to a new win to boost squad harmony and morale after a painful qualifying period. As for the Tricolorii, they are seeking to repeat the stunning performance they’ve displayed last year when they defeated Chile by three goals to two after coming back from a two-goal deficit.

Although Romania expected to be at their full strength, Reinaldo Rueda might opt to give the opportunity to some of the youngsters while providing a breather to his star players that are coming off an exhausting season in the major European leagues.