Romania – Switzerland

No more than two goals will be scored in the match between the group leaders

In Group I before the final round of European qualification, the tournament intrigue has been completely exhausted. Romania and Switzerland will go to Germany next year to participate in determining the strongest team of the continent. Israel will have the right to achieve the same result in the knockout rounds, while Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra will await the upcoming battles in the Nations League and qualification for the World Cup, which will be held in North America in 2026. The only motivating factor for the rivals to meet in Bucharest could be the final first-place finish. Romania is two points ahead of Switzerland and will lose the lead only in case of defeat. Bookmakers have identified the guests of the upcoming meeting as favorites, offering odds of 2.02 on their victory. The Romanian team did not qualify for the World Cup, finishing third behind North Macedonia and Germany. In last year's Nations League, the national team crashed in League B. After being placed in the same group as Montenegro, Finland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Romanians came last. In the current qualifying tournament, Romania has transformed itself and by the tenth round had not lost a single game. The main achievement of the team in qualifying is a phenomenal draw in Switzerland. The Romanians were losing to the group favourites 0-2 by the 89th minute of the game, but managed to score two goals in three minutes and pick up one point. Since that epic match, Romania have won three games in the autumn and drawn twice. Switzerland shone in their group at the World Cup, becoming a member of the 1/8 finals thanks to a win over Serbia in the final round. In the play-offs, Yakin's team suffered a terrible defeat against Portugal, but the minimum task was fulfilled, which allowed the federation to keep the coach in office. In the current qualifying tournament, the Swiss started with three victories, rolling over Belarus, Israel and Andorra. However, after that Yakin's team started to make a fool of themselves, collecting draws in the matches, during the course of which they either got back into the game in extra time or allowed their opponents to do so. Switzerland have drawn five times in the last six rounds of qualification, beating only Andorra. In the upcoming encounter, the hosts will be defending in echelon, which is unlikely to result in a high total.