Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina – News and Probable Lineups

Romania will host Bosnia-Herzegovina in their first home match of the 2026-27 Nations League B at Arena Nationala this coming Monday.

Both teams have kicked off their tournament campaigns, with the home side currently rooted to the bottom of the group with no points after a 2-1 defeat to Sweden on Friday. On the other hand, Bosnia-Herzegovina sits in second place with one point after drawing 0-0 with Poland on the same day.

Match overview

Romania will believe they should have at least secured a point in their encounter with Sweden, as both sides struggled to create many high-quality opportunities in the attacking third.

Goalkeeper Ionut Radu may feel let down after failing to save Alexander Isak’s shot, although it’s unfair to place the blame solely on him for the team’s overall difficulties.

The Tricolorii have recorded four losses, one draw, and only two victories in their last six fixtures across all competitions, conceding 10 goals while managing just one clean sheet.

Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that Gheorghe Hagi’s team has claimed victory in each of their last four home encounters, the latest being a 2-1 win over Wales in June.

In those four home matches, Romania netted a total of 12 goals, and they have only allowed more than one goal once in their last 10 home games.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were solid defensively for much of their match against Poland, limiting their opponents to just one significant chance.

A win for the visitors would mark their third consecutive victory over Romania, with their last encounter resulting in a 3-1 victory for Zmajevi against the hosts.

Out of their last 13 matches, Bosnia-Herzegovina has only experienced two defeats, which occurred during the 2026 World Cup – 4-1 and 2-0 losses to Switzerland and the USA, respectively. However, their recent draw against Poland was their sixth match without a win in seven games (W1, D4, L2).

Barbarez’s side has also failed to win any of their five most recent away matches, which included two losses.

Team News

Romania will require more attacking contributions from forwards Dennis Man and Louis Munteanu, though both players would benefit if Ianis Hagi can create chances for them.

Hagi is likely to take on an advanced position, but he will only thrive if midfielders Tudor Baluta and Razvan Marin can provide support from their deep-lying roles.

Centre-back Radu Dragusin is expected to partner alongside defenders Andrei Coubis and Virgil Ghita.

If Bosnia-Herzegovina employs the same 4-4-2 formation used against Poland, we can anticipate Ermedin Demirovic and Haris Tabakovic leading the line together.

Ivan Basic and Ivan Sunjic may be tasked with shielding a four-man defence that includes defenders Nikola Katic and Tarik Muharemovic.

Romania probable starting XI:

Radu; Coubis, Dragusin, Ghita; Ratiu, Baluta, Marin, Bancu; Hagi; Man, Munteanu

Bosnia-Herzegovina probable starting XI:

Zlomislic; Smajlovic, Katic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac; Bajraktarevic, Basic, Sunjic, Alajbegovic; Demirovic, Tabakovic

Though neither side has shown strong form recently, Romania has a formidable record on home turf.

The hosts’ defence has been particularly solid at home, making it challenging for Bosnia-Herzegovina to create consistent scoring opportunities.