Moldova national football team

The Moldova national football team (Romanian: Echipa națională de fotbal a Moldovei) represents Moldova in men's international football and is controlled by the Moldovan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău and their head coach is Serghei Cleșcenco. Shortly before the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on 2 July 1991.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Moldova women's national football team.

Moldova
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
AssociationFederația Moldovenească de Fotbal (FMF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachSerghei Cleșcenco
CaptainVadim Rață
Most capsAlexandru Epureanu (100)
Top scorerIon Nicolaescu (14)
Home stadiumStadionul Zimbru
FIFA codeMDA
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 159 Increase 5 (21 September 2023)[1]
Highest37 (April 2008)
Lowest181 (October 2021)
First international
Unofficial
 Moldova 2–4 Georgia 
(Chişinău, SSR Moldova, Soviet Union; 2 July 1991)
Official
 United States 1–1 Moldova 
(Jacksonville, United States; 16 April 1994)
Biggest win
 Pakistan 0–5 Moldova 
(Amman, Jordan; 18 August 1992)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 8–0 Moldova 
(Herning, Denmark; 28 March 2021)
Websitefmf.md

Two of their three best results in the 2020s came during the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2024, with a win over Poland (3-2) in Chisinau, coming back from a 0-2 deficit, and a draw against Czech Republic (0-0) in Chișinău. In 2007, Moldova upset Hungary 3–0 in Chișinău in Euro 2008 qualifying. Another notable result was a 5–2 win over Montenegro during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The team has never qualified for the final stages of the UEFA European Championship nor the FIFA World Cup since first entering qualifying in 1998.

Following Moldova's 4–0 defeat to England in September 1997, British writer and comedian Tony Hawks travelled to Moldova to challenge and beat all 11 Moldovan international footballers at tennis. The feature film version of the book of the same name, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, was filmed in and around Chișinău in May and June 2010 and was released in the spring of 2012.

History

The Moldovan Football Federation was founded in 1990. However, the national football team of Moldova did not play an official international match until 1991, when Moldova lost to Georgia. Alexandru Spiridon was the player who scored the first goal in the history.

Moldova's first attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup was in 1998, but they failed to qualify for the tournament. Moldova has finished either last or second last in all tournament qualifying campaigns entered to date, except UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, in which they finished fifth in the seven-team Group C with 12 points.

Current sponsorship

German sports company Jako has been Moldova's official kit manufacturer since 2000.

Results and fixtures
Main articles: Moldova national football team results (2020–present) and Moldova national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
16 November 2022 Friendly Moldova  1–2  Azerbaijan Chişinău, Moldova
19:00
  • Moțpan 90+2'
 Report
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 3,742
Referee: Denys Shurman (Ukraine)
20 November 2022 Friendly Moldova  0–5  Romania Chişinău, Moldova
20:30
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 6,145
Referee: Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu (Turkey)

2023
24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova  1–1  Faroe Islands Chișinău, Moldova
20:45
Report
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 4,732
Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)
27 March 2023 (2023-03-27) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova  0–0  Czech Republic Chișinău, Moldova
20:45 Report Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 5,120
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany)
17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Albania  2–0  Moldova Tirana, Albania
20:45
Report Stadium: Arena Kombëtare
Attendance: 20,944
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova  3–2  Poland Chișinău, Moldova
20:45
Report
Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 9,442
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) Friendly Austria  1–1  Moldova Linz, Austria
20:30 UTC+2 Gregoritsch 50' Report Damașcan 3' Stadium: Raiffeisen Arena
Attendance: 13,200
Referee: Robert Jones (England)
10 September 2023 (2023-09-10) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Faroe Islands  0–1  Moldova Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
18:00 Report Rață 53' Stadium: Tórsvøllur
Attendance: 2,710
Referee: Vassilios Fotias (Greece)
12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) Friendly Sweden  3–1  Moldova Solna, Sweden
18:00 UTC+1
Report Nicolaescu 39' Stadium: Friends Arena
Attendance: 10,097
Referee: Antti Munukka (Finland)
15 October 2023 (2023-10-15) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Poland  1–1  Moldova Warsaw, Poland
20:45 Świderski 53' Report Nicolaescu 26' Stadium: Stadion Narodowy
Attendance: 51,672
Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova  v  Albania Chișinău, Moldova
20:45 Report Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
20 November 2023 (2023-11-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Czech Republic  v  Moldova Olomouc, Czech Republic
20:45 Report Stadium: Andrův Stadion

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff
Position Staff
Head coach Moldova Serghei Cleșcenco
Assistant coaches Moldova Vitalie Culibaba
Moldova Sergiu Secu
Goalkeeping coach Moldova Denis Romanenco
Fitness coach Moldova Alexei Scorpan

Last updated: 23 July 2023
Source: FMF

Manager history

Former forward and all-time top goalscorer of Moldova is the current head coach of Moldova national team since December 2021.[2]

Statistics correct as of match played on 10 September 2023[3]
Coach Nat. Period Played Win Drawn Loss % Won
Ion Caras Moldova 1991–1992 2 0 1 1 000.00
Eugen Piunovschi Moldova 1992 5 3 0 2 060.00
Ion Caras Moldova 1992–1997 27 5 3 19 018.52
Alexandru Mațiura (interim) Moldova 1998 1 0 0 1 000.00
Ivan Daniliants Moldova 1998–1999 14 2 7 5 014.29
Alexandru Mațiura Moldova 1999–2001 16 4 4 8 025.00
Alexandru Spiridon Moldova 2001 4 1 0 3 025.00
Viktor Pasulko Ukraine 2002–2005 35 7 8 20 020.00
Anatol Teslev Moldova 2006 6 1 2 3 016.67
Igor Dobrovolski Russia 2007–2009 30 7 9 14 023.33
Gavril Balint Romania 2010–2011 18 5 2 11 027.78
Ion Caras Moldova 2012–2014 27 6 7 14 022.22
Alexandru Curtianu Moldova 2014–2015 10 0 4 6 000.00
Ștefan Stoica (interim) Romania 2015 3 0 0 3 000.00
Igor Dobrovolski Russia 2016–2017 18 2 5 11 011.11
Alexandru Spiridon Moldova 2018–2019 16 3 5 8 018.75
Semen Altman Ukraine 2019 4 0 0 4 000.00
Engin Fırat Turkey 2019–2020 11 0 2 9 000.00
Roberto Bordin Italy 2021 12 1 1 10 008.33
Serghei Cleșcenco Moldova 2021– 18 7 4 7 038.89

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were selected for the friendy match against  Sweden on 12 October 2023 and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against  Poland on 15 October 2023, respectively.[4]

Caps and goals updated as of 15 October 2023, after the match against Poland.[5]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Nicolae Cebotari (1997-05-24) 24 May 1997 0 0 Moldova Zimbru Chișinău
12 1GK Cristian Avram (1994-07-27) 27 July 1994 9 0 Azerbaijan Araz-Naxçıvan
23 1GK Dorian Railean (1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 14 0 Romania Chindia Târgoviște
2 2DF Oleg Reabciuk (1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 43 0 Russia Spartak Moscow
3 2DF Vadim Bolohan (1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 40 1 Moldova Milsami Orhei
4 2DF Vladislav Baboglo (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 6 1 Ukraine Karpaty Lviv
5 2DF Veaceslav Posmac (1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 66 2 Turkey Boluspor
6 2DF Denis Marandici (1996-09-18) 18 September 1996 11 0 Azerbaijan Turan Tovuz
14 2DF Artur Crăciun (1998-06-29) 29 June 1998 20 0 Poland Puszcza Niepołomice
15 2DF Ion Jardan (1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 50 0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești
20 2DF Sergiu Platica (1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 42 0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești
21 2DF Ioan-Călin Revenco (2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 21 1 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești
7 3MF Mihai Platica (1990-03-15) 15 March 1990 13 1 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești
8 3MF Nichita Moțpan (2001-07-17) 17 July 2001 14 2 Russia Fakel Voronezh
16 3MF Victor Stînă (1998-03-20) 20 March 1998 10 2 Greece Panserraikos
18 3MF Serafim Cojocari (2001-01-07) 7 January 2001 8 0 Romania Unirea Slobozia
19 3MF Victor Bogaciuc (1999-10-17) 17 October 1999 7 0 Romania Chindia Târgoviște
22 3MF Vadim Rață (captain) (1993-05-05) 5 May 1993 41 2 Romania Voluntari
9 4FW Ion Nicolaescu (1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 38 14 Netherlands Heerenveen
10 4FW Vitalie Damașcan (1999-01-24) 24 January 1999 32 3 Romania Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
13 4FW Maxim Cojocaru (1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 17 0 Romania Chindia Târgoviște
17 4FW Virgiliu Postolachi (2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 15 0 France Grenoble

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.[6]

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Alexei Koșelev (1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 25 0 Greece Lamia v.  Albania, 17 June 2023 PRE
DF Victor Mudrac (1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 12 0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
DF Daniel Dumbravanu (2001-07-22) 22 July 2001 5 0 Italy SPAL v.  Albania, 17 June 2023 PRE
DF Igor Armaș (1987-07-14) 14 July 1987 83 6 Romania Voluntari v.  Romania, 20 November 2022 RET
DF Iurie Iovu (2002-07-06) 6 July 2002 3 0 Croatia Istra 1961 v.  Romania, 20 November 2022
MF Cristian Dros (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 15 0 Belarus Slavia Mozyr v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
MF Artur Ioniță (1990-08-17) 17 August 1990 67 3 Italy Lecco v.  Albania, 17 June 2023 PRE
MF Mihail Caimacov (1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 20 1 Croatia Slaven Koprivnica v.  Albania, 17 June 2023 PRE
MF Eugeniu Cociuc (1993-05-11) 11 May 1993 29 0 Unattached v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2022
FW Marius Iosipoi (2000-04-28) 28 April 2000 6 0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
FW Nicky Cleșcenco (2001-07-23) 23 July 2001 4 0 Moldova Petrocub Hîncești v.  Azerbaijan, 16 November 2022

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Player records
Main article: List of Moldova international footballers
As of match played 20 June 2023[7][8]
Players in bold are still active with Moldova.

Most appearances
Alexandru Epureanu is Moldova's most capped player with 100 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Alexandru Epureanu 100 7 2006–2021
2 Igor Armaș 83 6 2008–2023
3 Victor Golovatenco 79 3 2004–2017
4 Radu Rebeja 74 2 1991–2008
5 Serghei Cleșcenco 69 11 1991–2006
6 Eugeniu Cebotaru 68 1 2007–2020
7 Artur Ioniță 67 3 2009–present
8 Veaceslav Posmac 66 2 2013–present
9 Alexandru Gațcan 63 5 2005–2018
10 Alexandru Suvorov 59 5 2006–2020

Top goalscorers
Ion Nicolaescu is Moldova's top scorer with 13 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Average Career
1 Ion Nicolaescu 14 38 0.33 2018–present
2 Serghei Cleșcenco 11 69 0.16 1991–2006
3 Serghei Rogaciov 9 52 0.17 1996–2007
4 Sergiu Dadu 8 30 0.27 2002–2013
Iurie Miterev 8 36 0.22 1992–2006
Igor Bugaiov 8 54 0.15 2007–2017
7 Eugen Sidorenco 7 35 0.2 2010–2019
Viorel Frunză 7 37 0.19 2002–2015
Radu Gînsari 7 47 0.15 2012–present
Alexandru Epureanu 7 100 0.07 2006–2021

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Pos
1930 to 1938 Part of  Romania Part of  Romania
1950 to 1990 Part of  Soviet Union Part of  Soviet Union
1994 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member[9]
France 1998 Did not qualify 80082215/5
South Korea Japan 2002 101366205/6
Germany 2006 101275166/6
South Africa 2010 100376186/6
Brazil 2014 1032512175/6
Russia 2018 100284236/6
Qatar 2022 100195306/6
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030[lower-alpha 1]
Total 68 5 13 50 40 145 0/7

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Pos
1960 to 1988 Part of  Soviet Union Part of  Soviet Union
1992 Part of  CIS
England 1996 Did not qualify 1030711274/6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 80447175/5
Portugal 2004 82065194/5
Austria Switzerland 2008 1233612195/7
Poland Ukraine 2012 1030712165/6
France 2016 100284166/6
Europe 2020 101094266/6
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028
Italy Turkey 2032
Total 74 14 12 48 61 146 0/7

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 2 623145Rise48th
2020–21 C 3 (play-out) 8116313Fall48th
2022–23 D 1 6411106Same position51st
2024–25 D To be determined
Total 20 7 5 8 17 24 48th

By competition
Competition P W D L GF GA GD Win % Loss %
FIFA World Cup qualification 685135040145–1057.3573.53
UEFA European qualification 7414124861146–8518.9264.86
UEFA Nations League 207581724–735.0040.00
Total1622630106118315–19716.0565.43

Head-to-head record
Last match updated was against  Sweden on 12 October 2023.[11]

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  2. Daghi, Victor (3 December 2021). "Serghei Cleșcenco, noul selecționer al Moldovei" [Serghei Cleșcenco, the new manager of Moldova]. fmf.md (in Romanian). Moldovan Football Federation. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. "Moldova national team managers". eu-football.info. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  4. "Lotul lărgit al Naționalei Moldovei pentru meciurile cu Albania și Polonia". FMF (in Romanian). 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. "Moldova – Feroe 1-1". FMF (in Romanian). 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. Grecu, Sandu (9 March 2021). "Lotul lărgit al Naționalei pentru startul campaniei de calificare la World Cup 2022" (in Romanian). FMF. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. "Most Moldova caps". EU Football. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  8. "Top Moldova Goal Scorers". EU Football. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  9. FIFA member since 16 June 1994.
  10. FIFA. "FIFA Council takes key decisions on FIFA World Cup™ editions in 2030 and 2034". FIFA. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. Courtney, Barrie. "Moldova - International results". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
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