Moldova national football team
The Moldova national football team (Romanian: Echipa națională de fotbal a Moldovei) represents Moldova in association 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 Igor Dobrovolski. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on 2 July 1991.
Association | Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal (FMF) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Head coach | Engin Fırat | ||
Captain | Alexandru Epureanu | ||
Most caps | Alexandru Epureanu (91) | ||
Top scorer | Serghei Cleșcenco (11) | ||
Home stadium | Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău | ||
FIFA code | MDA | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 175 ![]() | ||
Highest | 37 (April 2008) | ||
Lowest | 175 (June 2018, August 2018, October 2019 – June 2020) | ||
Elo ranking | |||
Current | 147 ![]() | ||
Highest | 86 (February 2008) | ||
Lowest | 148 (November 2019) | ||
First international | |||
![]() ![]() (Chişinău, Moldova; 2 July 1991) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Amman, Jordan; 18 August 1992) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (Gothenburg, Sweden; 6 June 2001) |
Two of their three best results in the 1990s years, came during the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 1996, with wins over Georgia (1–0) in Tbilisi and Wales (3–2) in Chișinău. In 2007, Moldova obtained a very good result, defeating Hungary 3–0 in Chișinău in Euro 2008 qualifying. Their best recent 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 as of present time.
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.
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.
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1930 to 1938 | Part of ![]() |
|||||||||||||||
1950 to 1990 | Part of ![]() | |||||||||||||||
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Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member[3] | ||||||||||||||
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Did not qualify | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 21 | |||||||||
![]() ![]() |
10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 20 | ||||||||||
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10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 16 | ||||||||||
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10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 18 | ||||||||||
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10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 17 | ||||||||||
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10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 23 | ||||||||||
![]() |
To be determined | |||||||||||||||
Total | 0/6 | 58 | 5 | 12 | 41 | 35 | 115 | |||||||||
UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1960 to 1992 | Part of ![]() ![]() |
|||||||||||||||
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Did not qualify | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 27 | |||||||||
![]() ![]() |
8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 17 | ||||||||||
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8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 19 | ||||||||||
![]() ![]() |
12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 19 | ||||||||||
![]() ![]() |
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 16 | ||||||||||
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10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 16 | ||||||||||
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10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 26 | ||||||||||
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To be determined | |||||||||||||||
Total | 0/7 | 68 | 12 | 9 | 47 | 55 | 140 | |||||||||
UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Division | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
2018–19 | D | 48th | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
2020–21 | C | To be determined | ||||||
Total | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D table |show_matches=yes}}
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ![]() |
![]() |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 6 | +19 | 25 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
2 | ![]() |
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 23 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | ||
3 | ![]() |
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 19 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||
4 | ![]() |
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 13 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–2 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | ||
5 | ![]() |
10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 20 | −17 | 4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | ||
6 | ![]() |
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 26 | −22 | 3 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | — |
Fixtures and results
Recent results
2019
Iceland ![]() | 3–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Sigþórsson ![]() Bjarnason ![]() Mudrac ![]() |
Report |
Moldova ![]() | 0–4 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Report | Cikalleshi ![]() Bare ![]() Trashi ![]() Manaj ![]() |
France ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Varane ![]() Giroud ![]() |
Report | Rață ![]() |
Moldova ![]() | 1–2 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Milinceanu ![]() |
Report | Bjarnason ![]() G. Sigurðsson ![]() |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the Friendly Match against Sweden on January 9, 2020.[4]
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Alexei Koșelev | 19 November 1993 | 21 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
GK | Dumitru Celeadnic | 23 April 1992 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Veaceslav Posmac | 7 November 1990 | 37 | 2 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Ion Jardan | 10 January 1990 | 29 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Oleg Reabciuk | 16 January 1998 | 16 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Artur Crăciun | 29 June 1998 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Artiom Rozgoniuc | 1 October 1995 | 10 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Ștefan Efros | 8 May 1990 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Victor Mudrac | 3 March 1994 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Artur Ioniță | 17 August 1990 | 45 | 3 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Alexandru Antoniuc | 23 May 1989 | 44 | 3 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Radu Gînsari | 10 December 1991 | 39 | 7 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Cătălin Carp | 20 October 1993 | 29 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Eugen Zasavițchi | 24 November 1992 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Alexandr Belousov | 14 May 1998 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Evgheni Oancea | 5 January 1996 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Eugeniu Cebotaru | 16 October 1984 | 65 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Alexandru Dedov | 26 July 1989 | 55 | 3 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Maxim Mihaliov | 22 August 1986 | 13 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Constantin Sandu | 15 September 1993 | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Iaser Țurcan | 7 January 1998 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Valeriu Macrițchii | 13 February 1996 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Mihail Ghecev | 5 November 1997 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Eugen Sidorenco | 19 March 1989 | 35 | 7 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Vitalie Damașcan | 24 January 1999 | 14 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Nicolae Milinceanu | 1 August 1992 | 10 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Virgiliu Postolachi WIT | 17 March 2000 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Maxim Cojocaru | 13 January 1998 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Vadim Cemîrtan | 21 July 1987 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
- Notes
- WIT Withdrew from squad.
- INJ Injured, ill or recovering from surgery.
- RET Retired from international football.
Player history
Players in bold are still active.
- Last match updated was against
Sweden on 9 January 2020.
Most capped players
![](../I/m/Alexandru_Epureanu2014.jpg)
Rank | Player | Appearances | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alexandru Epureanu | 91 | 7 |
2 | Victor Golovatenco | 82 | 4 |
3 | Radu Rebeja | 74 | 2 |
4 | Serghei Cleșcenco | 69 | 11 |
5 | Eugeniu Cebotaru | 65 | 1 |
6 | Alexandru Gațcan | 63 | 5 |
7 | Igor Armaș | 58 | 5 |
8 | Alexandru Suvorov | 57 | 5 |
9 | Ion Testemițanu | 56 | 5 |
10 | Alexandru Dedov | 55 | 3 |
Valeriu Catînsus | 55 | 0 |
Top goalscorers
Rank | Player | Goals |
---|---|---|
1 | Serghei Cleșcenco | 11 |
2 | Serghei Rogaciov | 9 |
3 | Igor Bugaiov | 8 |
Sergiu Dadu | 8 | |
Iurie Miterev | 8 | |
6 | Alexandru Epureanu | 7 |
Eugen Sidorenco | 7 | |
Viorel Frunză | 7 | |
Radu Gînsari | 7 | |
10 | Alexandru Suvorov | 5 |
Serghei Alexeev | 5 | |
Serghei Alexandrov | 5 | |
Alexandru Gațcan | 5 | |
Ion Testemițanu | 5 | |
Igor Armaș | 5 |
Clean Sheets
Rank | Player | CS |
---|---|---|
1 | Stanislav Namașco | 12 |
2 | Evgheni Hmaruc | 10 |
3 | Alexei Koșelev | 6 |
Vasile Koșelev | 6 | |
Serghei Dinov | 6 | |
Ilie Cebanu | 6 | |
Nicolae Calancea | 6 | |
Denis Romanenco | 6 | |
9 | Artiom Gaiduchevici | 5 |
10 | Alexei Jmurco | 1 |
Alexandru Melenciuc | 1 |
Moldova all-time record against all nations
- Last match updated was against
Sweden on 2020-01-09.
Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | % Won |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0.00 |
![]() |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 66.67 |
![]() |
5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 20.00 |
![]() |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 16.67 |
![]() |
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 30.00 |
![]() |
9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 22.22 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 50.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | −16 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 20.00 |
![]() |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 25.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 33.33 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0.00 |
![]() |
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 14.29 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 50.00 |
![]() |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 40.00 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 33.33 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 25.00 |
![]() |
6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 16.67 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 42.86 |
![]() |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 25.00 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 100.00 |
![]() |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0.00 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 100.00 |
![]() |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 50.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 33.33 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
![]() |
8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 21 | −18 | 0.00 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0.00 |
![]() |
11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 29 | −26 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 25.00 |
Total | 239 | 46 | 57 | 136 | 191 | 388 | −197 | 19.25 |
Managers
- Statistics correct as of match played on 9 January 2020[5]
Coach | Nat. | Period | Played | Win | Drawn | Loss | % Won |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ion Caras | ![]() |
1991–1992, 1992–1997 & 2012–2014 | 56 | 11 | 11 | 34 | 19.64 |
Evghenii Piunovschii | ![]() |
1992 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60.00 |
Ivan Daniliants | ![]() |
1998–1999 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 14.29 |
Alexandru Mațiura | ![]() |
1999–2001 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 23.53 |
Alexandru Spiridon | ![]() |
2001 & 2018–2019 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 20.00 |
Viktor Pasulko | ![]() |
2002–2006 | 35 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 20.00 |
Anatol Teslev | ![]() |
2006–2007 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16.67 |
Igor Dobrovolski | ![]() |
2007–2009 & 2016–2017 | 48 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 18.75 |
Gavril Balint | ![]() |
2010–2011 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 27.78 |
Alexandru Curtianu | ![]() |
2014–2015 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.00 |
Ștefan Stoica | ![]() |
2015 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
Semen Altman | ![]() |
2019 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 |
Engin Fırat | ![]() |
2019– | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
Current sponsorship
The Official kit provider is currently manufactured by German sports company Jako since 2000.
- Official sponsors: Bere Chișinău, Jako, Rusnac, Infront Sports & Media (Moldova), Bemol, iTicket (Moldova), Vizită, Orange (Moldova)
See also
- Moldova national football team results
- Category:Moldovan footballers
- Category:Moldova international footballers
- Category:Moldovan football biography stubs
References
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- FIFA member since 16 June 1994.
- "LOTUL FINAL AL NAȚIONALEI PENTRU PARTIDA CU SUEDIA" [Enlarged national team for the matches with Sweden]. fmf.md (in Romanian). Moldovan Football Federation. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- "Moldova national team managers". eu-football.info. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moldova national football team. |
- Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal (in Russian and Romanian)
- RSSSF archive of results: 1991–present (in English)
- Reports for all matches of Moldova national team (in English)