Romania suffers 4-2 home loss to Bosnia after Hagi rotates nine starters

Romania lost 4-2 to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the National Arena in Bucharest on September 28, dropping to the bottom of Nations League Group B4 without a point. Coach Gheorghe Hagi made nine changes from the side that lost 2-1 in Sweden three days earlier, resting key players including Radu Dragusin, Dennis Man, Ianis Hagi, Andrei Ratiu and Razvan Marin.

Bosnia took a commanding 4-0 lead through goals from Edin Gigovic, Nidal Muharemovic, Haris Tabakovic and Amar Mahmicic. Romania replied late with strikes from Daniel Birligea and Alexandru Cicâldău. Goalkeeper Ionut Radu was criticised for errors on at least two Bosnia goals.

“First guilty party is me. I assumed the risk, I planned these two matches with two teams. The exam was not passed, neither by me nor by them.”

Hagi accepted full responsibility after the match, stating he planned the two-match rotation to manage workload across four fixtures. He admitted the experiment failed and said changes are needed for Romania to perform at the expected level. The Romanian Football Federation technical director Mihai Stoichita defended the strategy as normal squad management.

Former internationals Cornel Dinu and Danut Lupu condemned the mass rotation, arguing national team matches are not for experimentation. Dinu called the federation "corporatist" and said the approach prevents building a cohesive team. Analysts also questioned the use of Vladimir Screciu in midfield instead of his usual centre-back role.

Hagi praised young defender Andrei Coubis as the only positive from the two matches. The coach also regretted not starting goalkeeper Otto Hindrich instead of Radu. Romania next faces Cyprus and San Marino in October fixtures.