Mircea Lucescu spoke about his departure from the Romanian national team.
After the success in San Marino, Lucescu expressed his annoyance at the criticisms he has received in recent days and stated that he can leave whenever he wants.
"I was not upset with Mihai Popescu, I just explained to him. A player made a mistake that is related to his knowledge, which he should have had since he was 18. There was no question of this criticism leading to any consequences. I also had discussions with him. It was an individual mistake. I talked to him.
If at my age I cannot make observations, advise, criticize, who else can? A 30-year-old coach? I am 80 years old, I can say whatever I want. I have said it before and I repeat. I can leave at any moment. At any moment. I came to help. I have no other obligations."
If people do not understand that this team needs to move to another level... I am now waiting for the youth players to achieve a good result and promote some players, so we do not remain with the same group of players.
We remind you that the Romanian national team defeated San Marino, with a score of 5-1. Our goals were scored by Cevoli (own goal), Mihai Popescu, Răzvan Marin, Ianis Hagi, and Denis Alibec.
After the first two rounds, Romania is in second place with 3 points, while the first position is held by Bosnia with 6 points. Austria has not played any matches so far.
According to the organization format, only the top-ranked team qualifies directly for the 2026 World Cup.