Moldova national football team

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

The Moldova national football team (Romanian: Echipa națională de fotbal a Moldovei) represents Moldova in 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.

Moldova

Nickname(s)	Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
Association	Federația Moldovenească de Fotbal (FMF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Serghei Cleșcenco
Captain	Veaceslav Posmac
Most caps	Alexandru Epureanu (100)
Top scorer	Ion Nicolaescu (12)
Home stadium	Stadionul Zimbru
FIFA code	MDA
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	164 (20 July 2023)^[1]
Highest	37 (April 2008)
Lowest	181 (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)
Website	fmf.md

Two of their three best results in the 1990s 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. 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.

• Official sponsors: Bere Chișinău, Jako, Rusnac, Infront Sports & Media (Moldova), Bemol, iTicket (Moldova), Vizită, Orange (Moldova)

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

Latvia   v   Moldova

22 September 2022 (2022-09-22) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Latvia	1–2	Moldova	Riga, Latvia
20:45	Ikaunieks   55'	Report	Revenco   26' Nicolaescu   45'	Stadium: Skonto Stadium Attendance: 6,711 Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)

Moldova   v   Liechtenstein

25 September 2022 (2022-09-25) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Moldova	2–0	Liechtenstein	Chişinău, Moldova
17:45	Stînă   90+2', 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 5,774 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Moldova   v   Azerbaijan

16 November 2022 Friendly	Moldova	1–2	Azerbaijan	Chişinău, Moldova
19:00	Moțpan   90+2'	Report	Mahmudov   28' Isayev   42'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 3,742 Referee: Denys Shurman (Ukraine)

Moldova   v   Romania

20 November 2022 Friendly	Moldova	0–5	Romania	Chişinău, Moldova
20:30			Moruțan   9' Drăguș   40' Cicâldău   61' Paraschiv   71' (pen.) Rus   88'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 6,145 Referee: Yaşar Kemal Uğurlu (Turkey)

2023

Moldova   v   Faroe Islands

24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	1–1	Faroe Islands	Chișinău, Moldova
20:45	Nicolaescu   87' (pen.)	Report	Mikkelsen   27'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium 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
20:45		Report		Stadium: Zimbru Stadium 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	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
20:45	Nicolaescu   48', 79' Babohlo   85'	Report	Milik   12' Lewandowski   34'	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium 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 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
18:00		Report	Rață   53'	Stadium: Tórsvøllur Attendance: 2,710 Referee: Vassilios Fotias (Greece)

Sweden   v   Moldova

12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) Friendly	Sweden	v	Moldova	Solna, Sweden
18:00 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Friends Arena

Poland   v   Moldova

15 October 2023 (2023-10-15) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Poland	v	Moldova	Warsaw, Poland
20:45		Report		Stadium: Stadion Narodowy

Moldova   v   Albania

17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	v	Albania	Chișinău, Moldova
20:45		Report		Stadium: Zimbru Stadium

Czech Republic   v   Moldova

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	Serghei Cleșcenco
Assistant coaches	Vitalie Culibaba   Sergiu Secu
Goalkeeping coach	Denis Romanenco
Fitness coach	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.^[3]

Statistics correct as of match played on 10 September 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–	18	7	4	7	038.89

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were selected for the friendy match agaisnt   Austria on 7 September 2023 and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against   Faroe Islands on 10 September 2023, respectively.^[5]

Caps and goals updated as of 10 September 2023, after the match against Faroe Islands.^[6]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Victor Străistari	(1999-06-21) 21 June 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Sheriff Tiraspol
12	1GK	Cristian Avram	(1994-07-27) 27 July 1994 (age 29)	9	0	Araz-Naxçıvan
23	1GK	Dorian Railean	(1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 (age 29)	12	0	Chindia Târgoviște
2	2DF	Mihail Ștefan	(2001-08-07) 7 August 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău
3	2DF	Vadim Bolohan	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 (age 37)	40	1	Milsami Orhei
4	2DF	Vladislav Baboglo	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 24)	4	1	Karpaty Lviv
5	2DF	Veaceslav Posmac	(1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 (age 32)	65	2	Boluspor
6	2DF	Denis Marandici	(1996-09-18) 18 September 1996 (age 27)	9	0	Turan Tovuz
14	2DF	Artur Crăciun	(1998-06-29) 29 June 1998 (age 25)	18	0	Puszcza Niepołomice
15	2DF	Ion Jardan	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 (age 33)	50	0	Petrocub Hîncești
20	2DF	Sergiu Plătică	(1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 (age 32)	40	0	Petrocub Hîncești
21	2DF	Ioan-Călin Revenco	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 23)	19	1	Petrocub Hîncești
7	3MF	Mihai Plătică	(1990-03-15) 15 March 1990 (age 33)	11	1	Petrocub Hîncești
8	3MF	Nichita Moțpan	(2001-07-17) 17 July 2001 (age 22)	12	2	Fakel Voronezh
16	3MF	Victor Stînă	(1998-03-20) 20 March 1998 (age 25)	10	2	Panserraikos
18	3MF	Serafim Cojocari	(2001-01-07) 7 January 2001 (age 22)	6	0	Unirea Slobozia
19	3MF	Victor Bogaciuc	(1999-10-17) 17 October 1999 (age 23)	5	0	Chindia Târgoviște
22	3MF	Vadim Rață (captain)	(1993-05-05) 5 May 1993 (age 30)	39	2	Voluntari
9	4FW	Ion Nicolaescu	(1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 (age 25)	36	12	Heerenveen
10	4FW	Vitalie Damașcan	(1999-01-24) 24 January 1999 (age 24)	30	3	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
13	4FW	Maxim Cojocaru	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 (age 25)	15	0	Chindia Târgoviște
17	4FW	Virgiliu Postolachi	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 23)	13	0	Grenoble

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	Alexei Koșelev	(1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 (age 29)	25	0	Lamia	v.   Albania, 17 June 2023 ^PRE
DF	Oleg Reabciuk	(1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 (age 25)	41	0	Spartak Moscow	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Victor Mudrac	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 (age 29)	12	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Daniel Dumbravanu	(2001-07-22) 22 July 2001 (age 22)	5	0	SPAL	v.   Albania, 17 June 2023 ^PRE
DF	Igor Armaș	(1987-07-14) 14 July 1987 (age 36)	83	6	Voluntari	v.   Romania, 20 November 2022 ^RET
DF	Iurie Iovu	(2002-07-06) 6 July 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Istra 1961	v.   Romania, 20 November 2022
MF	Cristian Dros	(1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 25)	15	0	Slavia Mozyr	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
MF	Artur Ioniță	(1990-08-17) 17 August 1990 (age 33)	67	3	Lecco	v.   Albania, 17 June 2023 ^PRE
MF	Mihail Caimacov	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 25)	20	1	Slaven Koprivnica	v.   Albania, 17 June 2023 ^PRE
MF	Eugeniu Cociuc	(1993-05-11) 11 May 1993 (age 30)	29	0		v.   Azerbaijan, 16 November 2022
FW	Marius Iosipoi	(2000-04-28) 28 April 2000 (age 23)	6	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
FW	Nicky Cleșcenco	(2001-07-23) 23 July 2001 (age 22)	4	0	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^[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	Eugeniu Cebotaru	68	1	2007–2020
7	Artur Ioniță	67	3	2009–present
8	Veaceslav Posmac	65	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 12 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	Ion Nicolaescu	12	36	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		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
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										5th	8	0	0	8	2	21
2002											5th	10	1	3	6	6	20
2006											6th	10	1	2	7	5	16
2010											6th	10	0	3	7	6	18
2014											5th	10	3	2	5	12	17
2018											6th	10	0	2	8	4	23
2022											6th	10	0	1	9	5	30
2026	To be determined										To be determined
Total	0/7										–	68	5	13	50	40	145

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960 to 1992	Part of   Soviet Union and   CIS										Part of   Soviet Union and   CIS
1996	Did not qualify										4th	10	3	0	7	11	27
2000											5th	8	0	4	4	7	17
2004											4th	8	2	0	6	5	19
2008											5th	12	3	3	6	12	19
2012											5th	10	3	0	7	12	16
2016											6th	10	0	2	8	4	16
2020											6th	10	1	0	9	4	26
2024	To be determined										To be determined
2028
Total	0/7										–	68	12	9	47	55	140

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	D	2	6	2	3	1	4	5		48th
2020–21	C	3	8	0	2	6	3	13		48th
2022–23	D	1	6	4	1	1	10	6		51st
2024–25	D	To be determined
Total			20	6	6	8	17	24	48th

By competition

Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Loss %
FIFA World Cup qualification	68	5	13	50	40	145	–105	7.35	73.53
UEFA European qualification	73	14	11	48	60	145	–85	19.18	65.75
UEFA Nations League	20	7	5	8	17	24	–7	35.00	40.00
Total	161	26	29	106	117	314	–197	16.15	65.84

Head-to-head record

Last match updated was against   Poland on 20 June 2023.^[11]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Albania	6	0	1	5	2	14	−12	000.00
Andorra	8	5	2	1	10	4	+6	062.50
Armenia	5	1	3	1	7	5	+2	020.00
Austria	8	1	0	7	3	14	−11	012.50
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	3	0	1	2	0	7	−7	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	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	000.00
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	7	1	1	5	5	12	−7	014.29
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^[a]	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	8	0	0	8	3	21	−18	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	272	52	62	158	216	462	−246	019.12
Moldova have played four more matches (0–1–3) against Romania, but they are not considered official.^[11]

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
2. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
3. 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. from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
4. "Moldova national team managers". eu-football.info. from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
5. "Lotul lărgit al Naționalei Moldovei pentru meciurile cu Albania și Polonia". FMF (in Romanian). 29 May 2023. from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
6. "Moldova – Feroe 1-1". FMF (in Romanian). 24 March 2023. from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
7. Grecu, Sandu (9 March 2021). "Lotul lărgit al Naționalei pentru startul campaniei de calificare la World Cup 2022" (in Romanian). FMF. from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
8. "Most Moldova caps". EU Football. from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
9. "Top Moldova Goal Scorers". EU Football. from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
10. FIFA member since 16 June 1994.
11. Courtney, Barrie. "Moldova - International results". RSSSF. from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

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 UEFA
• Moldova at FIFA
• RSSSF archive of results: 1991–present (in English)
• Reports for all matches of Moldova national team (in English)