Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina: Hagi’s Second Test Comes Without a Crowd

There will be no home crowd inside the National Arena, but Romania will still enter this Nations League meeting carrying the pressure of a team searching for its first points under Gheorghe Hagi. The new coach’s return began with a 2-1 defeat in Sweden, while Bosnia and Herzegovina opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Poland in Warsaw. That leaves Romania needing to change the mood quickly, while Sergej Barbarez’s side can build on a disciplined defensive display away from home. The unusual setting adds another layer because the Romanian players will have to create their own energy rather than feed from a normal home atmosphere. Bosnia arrive with recent memories of two competitive victories over Romania, although Barbarez has stressed that the previous meetings will not determine Monday’s approach. The match is therefore less about reputation than about which side can impose its preferred rhythm in an empty stadium.

Hagi has already signalled that Romania will look different from the side that started in Stockholm, with major changes made to the squad selected for this fixture. Ianis Hagi, Radu Drăgușin, Andrei Rațiu, Nicușor Bancu, Răzvan Marin and Dennis Man were not included for the Bosnia match, while Nicolae Stanciu has been publicly identified by Hagi as a player who will start after beginning the Sweden game on the bench. That creates a very different attacking and midfield picture, with Olimpiu Moruțan, Alexandru Cicâldău, Valentin Mihăilă, Daniel Bîrligea and Louis Munteanu among the available options. Bosnia’s approach is clearer after Warsaw: defend compactly, press when the moment is right and use players such as Kerim Alajbegović and Esmir Bajraktarević to carry the ball forward. Haris Tabaković has specifically described high pressing as part of Bosnia’s plan, while Barbarez wants his players to be brave rather than simply protect the draw. The tactical question is whether Romania’s reshuffled side can move the ball quickly enough to prevent Bosnia from settling into another organised defensive block.

The injury picture needs to be separated from Hagi’s selection decisions, because not every missing Romanian player is officially injured. The Romanian federation’s squad information specifically identifies Denis Drăguș as injured, while Florinel Coman was also absent from the international group after an injury, according to current Romanian team reporting. Bosnia’s federation said when announcing its September roster that it faced difficulties because some players were injured, others lacked sufficient playing time and others had recently changed clubs, but it did not publish a complete named injury list. One confirmed long-term case from the Bosnian federation is Adrian Leon Barišić, who suffered a recurring adductor injury requiring surgery and was expected to miss the subsequent period, although he is not part of the current Nations League squad. Because the current official sources do not establish a fresh matchday injury designation for several other absentees, those players are deliberately not presented as injured below. This keeps the availability section tied to documented information rather than turning squad rotation into medical news.

What the press discussion is concentrating on before kickoff is the combination of Romania’s managerial reset, Bosnia’s recent record in this matchup and the strange atmosphere created by a closed-door fixture. Barbarez has said Romania will be under pressure after losing their opening game and that Bosnia will try to exploit that situation, while also expecting another intense contest similar to the previous meetings between the nations. Tabaković has spoken about the need for aggressive pressing but also warned that Bosnia will have to remain careful defensively during the match. The Bosnian players completed their final training session in Bucharest, with Edin Džeko again training with the group after missing the Poland match. Romanian coverage, meanwhile, has focused heavily on Hagi’s decision to change the squad and leave several established starters from Stockholm out of the matchday group. With Romania on zero points and Bosnia on one after the opening round, the second chapter of Group B4 begins with both sides having a clear reason to alter the story established in their first fixtures.

🟥 Verified Medical Status

Romania

Romania — Injury Report
Category	Player	Injury / Status
Out / Ruled Out	Denis Drăguș	Knee injury; officially listed as injured in Romania’s squad information

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina — Injury Report
Category	Player	Injury / Status
Long-Term / IR	Adrian Leon Barišić	Recurring adductor injury requiring surgery; months-long recovery was announced by the federation

The Bosnia and Herzegovina federation has not published a complete named matchday injury list for this fixture. The table therefore contains only the officially documented long-term injury case rather than assigning injury labels to players who were simply omitted, rotated or lacked playing time.

🟢 Matchday Squad & Key Figures

Official starting XIs were not yet available when this preview was prepared. The following tables therefore show confirmed squad personnel and documented match roles, not predicted lineups.

Romania
Role	Player	Key Detail
Goalkeeper	Ionuț Radu	Experienced international goalkeeper in the current squad
Defender	Andrei Coubiș	Included in Hagi’s current squad
Midfielder	Nicolae Stanciu	Hagi confirmed that he would start against Bosnia
Forward	Olimpiu Moruțan	Available attacking option in the current squad

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Role	Player	Key Detail
Goalkeeper	Martin Zlomislić	Started the goalless draw against Poland
Defender	Sead Kolašinac	Started and captained Bosnia against Poland
Midfielder	Ivan Šunjić	Started the opening Nations League match
Forward	Haris Tabaković	Started against Poland and discussed the pressing plan before this fixture

📰 The Pre-Match Talking Points

• Romania lost 2-1 to Sweden in the opening Group B4 fixture.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina drew 0-0 with Poland in Warsaw.
• Gheorghe Hagi has made major changes to Romania’s matchday group for this fixture.
• Nicolae Stanciu has been confirmed by Hagi as a starter after beginning the Sweden match on the bench.
• Sergej Barbarez expects Romania to be under pressure after losing their opening match.
• Haris Tabaković has said Bosnia intend to use an intense pressing approach while remaining careful defensively.
• Edin Džeko trained with Bosnia in Bucharest after missing the Poland match.
• The match will be played without spectators at the National Arena because Romania are serving a UEFA sanction.
• Bosnia defeated Romania in both of their two most recent competitive meetings in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

⚽ Fixture Snapshot

• Competition: UEFA Nations League 2026/27 — League B, Group B4
• Match: Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Date: Monday, 28 September 2026
• Venue: National Arena, Bucharest
• Kickoff: 20:45 CET / 21:45 local time
• Romania coach: Gheorghe Hagi
• Bosnia and Herzegovina coach: Sergej Barbarez
• Matchday 1: Sweden 2-1 Romania; Poland 0-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Referee: Luís Godinho, Portugal

Variation rule: This preview deliberately separates confirmed injuries from tactical and selection changes. It begins with the unusual closed-door setting, moves into Hagi’s squad reshuffle, then examines the verified medical situation before ending with the coaches’ pre-match comments.

⚽Full Match
🥅 Watch	Server #1