International friendly
Tue. 20 Sep 1988 (7 PM)
Stadionul 1 Mai, Constanța
Att.: 4,000
Ref.: Mr Janusz Eksztajn
(Poland)
Match report
This was Romania’s only international friendly before the 1990 World Cup qualification. Jenei had a pretty clear idea of which players he would use in the upcoming qualifiers, but had a couple of new faces that he needed to try out. Gheorghe Popescu made his debut for the national team, Iosif Rotariu got his second cap. In particular the inclusion of Popescu was exciting, as this was a position Romania needed to fill after the retirement of László Bölöni.
Given the few number of international matches played by Albania, Shyqyri Rreli fielded an all-over quite inexperienced team on this level. He would again pick Halim Mersini as goalkeeper, who played his first minutes of international football against Cuba in August. Debuts were given to Ilir Kepa and Ylli Shehu, who would accompany the more experienced Minga and Kola when Albania made their way to the opponents’ goal.
The two teams had met as late as in the qualification for the 1988 Euros. Romania had won both encounters: 5-1 at home and 1-0 away.