Moldova

Nickname(s)	Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
Association	Moldovan Football Federation (Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal, FMF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Serghei Cleșcenco
Captain	Vadim Rață
Most caps	Alexandru Epureanu (100)
Top scorer	Ion Nicolaescu (14)
Home stadium	Zimbru Stadium
FIFA code	MDA
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	155 (21 December 2023)[1]
Highest	37 (April 2008)
Lowest	181 (October 2021)
First international
Unofficial  Moldova 2–4 Georgia  (Chișinău, 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)
Website	fmf.md

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.

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 Chişinău, 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 1994.

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.

The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying was a watershed moment for Moldova, the Moldovans came agonisingly close to a historic competitive debut for the first time, acquiring ten points in a group of five; the Moldovans also gained an impressive feat by being undefeated at home throughout the qualification, including a historic shock 3–2 comeback win over Poland. However, a denting away loss to the Czech Republic in the final matchday killed off Moldova's debuting hope once again, as they finished fourth and were eliminated due to inferior record.

Current sponsorship

• Official sponsors: Moldtelecom, Moldinconbank, Jako, Florentino Delure, OM, Invitro Diagnostics, Cricova.

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Period
Reusch	1994–1998
Puma	1998–2000
Jako	2000–present

Home stadium

Moldova national football team plays its official games at Zimbru Stadium which is privately held structure, but is under administration of FMF until 2026.^[2] The senior team, along with youth teams use Stadionul CPSM for training purposes. It is located in Vadul lui Vodă, a village along the Dniester River, approximately 25 kilometers from Chișinău.

Results and fixtures

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

2023

Moldova  v  Faroe Islands

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	1–1	Faroe Islands	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 UTC+2	Nicolaescu 87' (pen.)	Report	Mikkelsen 27'	Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 4,732 Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)

Moldova  v  Czech Republic

27 March 2023 (2023-03-27) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	0–0	Czech Republic	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 5,120 Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany)

Albania  v  Moldova

17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Albania	2–0	Moldova	Tirana, Albania
20:45 UTC+2	Asani 52' Bajrami 76'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,944 Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Moldova  v  Poland

20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	3–2	Poland	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 UTC+3	Nicolaescu 48', 79' Baboglo 85'	Report	Milik 12' Lewandowski 34'	Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 9,442 Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)

Austria  v  Moldova

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)

Faroe Islands  v  Moldova

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Faroe Islands	0–1	Moldova	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Rață 53'	Stadium: Tórsvøllur Attendance: 2,710 Referee: Vassilios Fotias (Greece)

Sweden  v  Moldova

12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) Friendly	Sweden	3–1	Moldova	Solna, Sweden
19:00 UTC+2	Karlsson 9', 74' Largerbielke 18'	Report	Nicolaescu 39'	Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 10,097 Referee: Antti Munukka (Finland)

Poland  v  Moldova

15 October 2023 (2023-10-15) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Poland	1–1	Moldova	Warsaw, Poland
20:45 UTC+2	Świderski 53'	Report	Nicolaescu 26'	Stadium: Stadion Narodowy Attendance: 51,672 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Moldova  v  Albania

17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	1–1	Albania	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+2	Baboglo 87'	Report	Çikalleshi 25' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 9,537 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Czech Republic  v  Moldova

20 November 2023 (2023-11-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Czech Republic	3–0	Moldova	Olomouc, Czech Republic
20:45 UTC+1	Douděra 14' Chorý 72' Souček 90'	Report		Stadium: Andrův Stadion Attendance: 11,653 Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

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

Last updated: 30 November 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.^[3]

Statistics correct as of match played on 20 November 2023^[4]

Coach	Nat.	Period	Played	Win	Drawn	Loss	% Won
Ion Caras		1991–1992	2	0	1	1	000.00
Eugen Piunovschi		1992	5	3	0	2	060.00
Ion Caras		1992–1997	27	5	3	19	018.52
Alexandru Mațiura (interim)		1998	1	0	0	1	000.00
Ivan Daniliants		1998–1999	14	2	7	5	014.29
Alexandru Mațiura		1999–2001	16	4	4	8	025.00
Alexandru Spiridon		2001	4	1	0	3	025.00
Viktor Pasulko		2002–2005	35	7	8	20	020.00
Anatol Teslev		2006	6	1	2	3	016.67
Igor Dobrovolski		2007–2009	30	7	9	14	023.33
Gavril Balint		2010–2011	18	5	2	11	027.78
Ion Caras		2012–2014	27	6	7	14	022.22
Alexandru Curtianu		2014–2015	10	0	4	6	000.00
Ștefan Stoica (interim)		2015	3	0	0	3	000.00
Igor Dobrovolski		2016–2017	18	2	5	11	011.11
Alexandru Spiridon		2018–2019	16	3	5	8	018.75
Semen Altman		2019	4	0	0	4	000.00
Engin Fırat		2019–2020	11	0	2	9	000.00
Roberto Bordin		2021	12	1	1	10	008.33
Serghei Cleșcenco		2021–	22	6	6	10	027.27

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matchs against  Albania and  Czech Republic on 17 November 2023 and 20 November 2023, respectively.^[5]

Caps and goals updated as of 20 November, after the match against Czech Republic.^[6]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Nicolae Cebotari	(1997-05-24) 24 May 1997	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău
12	1GK	Cristian Avram	(1994-07-27) 27 July 1994	8	0	Araz-Naxçıvan
23	1GK	Dorian Railean	(1993-10-13) 13 October 1993	16	0	Chindia Târgoviște
2	2DF	Oleg Reabciuk	(1998-01-16) 16 January 1998	45	0	Spartak Moscow
3	2DF	Vadim Bolohan	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986	40	1	Milsami Orhei
4	2DF	Vladislav Baboglo	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998	8	2	Karpaty Lviv
5	2DF	Veaceslav Posmac	(1990-11-07) 7 November 1990	68	2	Boluspor
6	2DF	Denis Marandici	(1996-09-18) 18 September 1996	10	0	Turan Tovuz
14	2DF	Artur Crăciun	(1998-06-29) 29 June 1998	22	0	Puszcza Niepołomice
15	2DF	Ion Jardan	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990	50	0	Petrocub Hîncești
20	2DF	Sergiu Platica	(1991-06-09) 9 June 1991	41	0	Petrocub Hîncești
21	2DF	Ioan-Călin Revenco	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000	23	1	Puszcza Niepołomice
	2DF	Dinis Ieșeanu	(2000-02-20) 20 February 2000	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău
7	3MF	Mihai Platica	(1990-03-15) 15 March 1990	14	1	Petrocub Hîncești
8	3MF	Nichita Moțpan	(2001-07-17) 17 July 2001	16	2	Fakel Voronezh
11	3MF	Mihail Caimacov	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998	22	1	Slaven Belupo
16	3MF	Victor Stînă	(1998-03-20) 20 March 1998	12	2	Larissa
18	3MF	Serafim Cojocari	(2001-01-07) 7 January 2001	10	0	Unirea Slobozia
19	3MF	Victor Bogaciuc	(1999-10-17) 17 October 1999	7	0	Chindia Târgoviște
22	3MF	Vadim Rață (captain)	(1993-05-05) 5 May 1993	43	2	Voluntari
9	4FW	Ion Nicolaescu	(1998-09-07) 7 September 1998	40	14	Heerenveen
10	4FW	Vitalie Damașcan	(1999-01-24) 24 January 1999	34	3	Stade Lausanne Ouchy
13	4FW	Maxim Cojocaru	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998	19	0	Chindia Târgoviște
17	4FW	Virgiliu Postolachi	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000	17	0	Grenoble
	4FW	Andrei Cobeț	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997	2	0	Torpedo-BelAZ

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months.^[7]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Victor Străistari	(1999-06-21) 21 June 1999	0	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v.  Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
GK	Dumitru Celeadnic	(1992-04-23) 23 April 1992	6	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Denis Furtună	(1999-10-13) 13 October 1999	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău	v.  Poland, 15 October 2023
DF	Mihail Ștefan	(2001-08-07) 7 August 2001	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău	v.  Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
DF	Victor Mudrac	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994	12	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Alexandr Belousov	(1998-05-14) 14 May 1998	5	0	Free agent	v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Daniel Dumbravanu	(2001-07-22) 22 July 2001	5	0	SPAL	v.  Czech Republic, 27 March 2023
MF	Artur Ioniță	(1990-08-17) 17 August 1990	67	3	Lecco	v.  Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
MF	Cristian Dros	(1998-04-15) 15 April 1998	15	0	Slavia Mozyr	v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
FW	Daniel Danu	(2002-08-26) 26 August 2002	0	0	Bălți	v.  Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
FW	Marius Iosipoi	(2000-04-28) 28 April 2000	6	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.  Poland, 20 June 2023
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

As of match played on 20 November 2023^[8][9]

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	Veaceslav Posmac	68	2	2013–present
	Eugeniu Cebotaru	68	1	2007–2020
8	Artur Ioniță	67	3	2009–present
9	Alexandru Gațcan	63	5	2005–2018
10	Alexandru Suvorov	59	5	2006–2020

Team records

• Biggest win:
  •  Pakistan 0–5 Moldova  (Amman, Jordan; 18 August 1992)
• Biggest defeat:
  •  Denmark 8–0 Moldova  (Herning, Denmark; 28 March 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[10]
1998	Did not qualify										8	0	0	8	2	21	5/5
2002											10	1	3	6	6	20	5/6
2006											10	1	2	7	5	16	6/6
2010											10	0	3	7	6	18	6/6
2014											10	3	2	5	12	17	5/6
2018											10	0	2	8	4	23	6/6
2022											10	0	1	9	5	30	6/6
2026	To be determined										To be determined
2030
2034
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
1996	Did not qualify										10	3	0	7	11	27	4/6
2000											8	0	4	4	7	17	5/5
2004											8	2	0	6	5	19	4/5
2008											12	3	3	6	12	19	5/7
2012											10	3	0	7	12	16	5/6
2016											10	0	2	8	4	16	6/6
2020											10	1	0	9	4	26	6/6
2024											8	2	4	2	7	10	4/5
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total											76	14	13	49	62	150	0/8

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record											Promotion/relegation play-offs
Year	Division	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	RK		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R
2018–19	D	3/4	6	2	3	1	4	5	48th		—
2020–21	C	4/4	6	0	1	5	1	11	48th		2	1	0	1	2	2
2022–23	D	2/4	6	4	1	1	10	6	51st		—
2024–25	D	To be determined									—
Total			18	6	5	7	15	22			2	1	0	1	2	2

Head-to-head record

Last match updated was against  Czech Republic on 20 November 2023.^[11]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Albania	7	0	2	5	3	15	−12	000.00
Andorra	8	5	2	1	10	4	+6	062.50
Armenia	5	1	3	1	7	5	+2	020.00
Austria	9	1	1	7	4	15	−11	011.11
Azerbaijan	12	4	5	3	10	8	+2	033.33
Belarus	9	2	4	3	7	10	−3	022.22
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Bulgaria	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	000.00
Cameroon	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Canada	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Congo	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Croatia	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	000.00
Cyprus	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Czech Republic	4	0	1	3	0	10	−10	000.00
Denmark	2	0	0	2	0	12	−12	000.00
El Salvador	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
England	4	0	0	4	0	16	−16	000.00
Estonia	5	1	1	3	1	3	−2	020.00
Faroe Islands	4	1	2	1	4	4	+0	025.00
Finland	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	025.00
France	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	000.00
Georgia	12	4	4	4	14	17	−3	033.33
Germany	4	0	0	4	3	18	−15	000.00
Greece	7	0	1	6	2	13	−11	000.00
Hungary	7	1	2	4	6	10	−4	014.29
Iceland	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Indonesia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Iraq	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Israel	8	0	3	5	6	14	−8	000.00
Italy	5	0	0	5	2	15	−13	000.00
Ivory Coast	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Jordan	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	050.00
Kazakhstan	7	3	1	3	6	7	−1	042.86
Kosovo	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Kyrgyzstan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Latvia	5	2	0	3	9	11	−2	040.00
Liechtenstein	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3	050.00
Lithuania	8	2	4	2	9	11	−2	025.00
Luxembourg	6	1	4	1	3	6	−3	016.67
Malta	7	3	3	1	7	6	+1	042.86
Montenegro	4	1	0	3	5	7	−2	025.00
Netherlands	4	0	0	4	1	9	−8	000.00
North Macedonia	3	0	3	0	3	3	+0	000.00
Northern Ireland	2	0	2	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Norway	5	0	1	4	1	6	−5	000.00
Pakistan	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00
Poland	8	1	2	5	6	13	−7	012.50
Portugal	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
Qatar	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Republic of Ireland	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Romania[lower-alpha 1]	4	0	0	4	2	15	−13	000.00
Russia	4	0	2	2	2	4	−2	000.00
San Marino	8	8	0	0	17	0	+17	100.00
Saudi Arabia	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	050.00
Senegal	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Scotland	4	0	1	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Serbia	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	000.00
Slovakia	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	033.33
Slovenia	4	0	0	4	1	10	−9	000.00
South Korea	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	000.00
Sudan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Sweden	9	0	0	9	4	24	−20	000.00
Switzerland	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Turkey	12	0	2	10	3	31	−28	000.00
Uganda	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Ukraine	5	0	2	3	3	6	−3	000.00
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
United States	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	000.00
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	000.00
Wales	4	1	0	3	3	9	−6	025.00
Total	280	54	66	160	222	470	−248	019.29
↑ Moldova have played four more matches (0–1–3) against Romania, but they are not considered official.[11]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moldova national football team.

• Official website of the Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal (in Romanian and Russian)
• Moldova at FIFA
• Moldova at UEFA
• RSSSF archive of results: 1991–present (in English)
• Reports for all matches of Moldova national team (in English)