Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1923, a 2–1 win over Yugoslavia in Piatra Neamt, on Mihai viteazu street no21 and it was coached by Teofil Moraru.
Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s; manager Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by Brazil and Belgium.
At the 1930 World Cup, Romania won their first match against Peru, 3–1, with goals from Adalbert Deșu, Constantin Stanciu and Nicolae Kovács, before being thrashed 4-0 by hosts and eventual winners Uruguay.
At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new knock-out format, losing 2–1 to Czechoslovakia in Trieste, Italy, with Ștefan Dobay scoring their only goal of the tournament.
Participation in the World Cup was finally achieved once again in 1970 in Mexico, although qualification came on the back of a 3-0 thrashing by Portugal in Lisbon and two unconvincing draws against unfancied Greece.
Despite going behind early to a Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with Alexandru Neagu and Florea Dumitrache scoring to give them two vital points.
Francisco José Carrasco opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Romania equalized before half time with a goal from Laszlo Bölöni.
Midfielder Ilie Dumitrescu, striker Florin Răducioiu and genius playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, then of Steaua Bucharest, were in the squad, but it was forward Gavril Balint who would prove the hero in the first round.
With World Champions Argentina stunned by Cameroon in the tournament's opening match, Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the USSR at the San Nicola in Bari, with Marius Lăcătuș scoring in either half.
Despite losing in Belgium and suffering a heavy 5–2 defeat in Czechoslovakia, Romania went into their last match at Cardiff Arms Park with Wales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals.
Paul Bodin of Swindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2–1, Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were knocked out.
Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach Anghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first twenty minutes, one a superbly subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders.
Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear.
In Toulouse, they met an England side starting with prodigal striker Michael Owen on the bench, with Teddy Sheringham preferred alongside Alan Shearer.
But Romania won with a scrappy late goal from Dan Petrescu, also playing in England with Chelsea, fighting off his club mate Graeme le Saux and nutmegging goalkeeper David Seaman.
A long-range Mehmet Scholl equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky after Costinha headed a last minute winner for Portugal in their second match.
Romania attacked after the break and were quickly rewarded; Dorinel Munteanu punishing a poor punch from Nigel Martyn, a late replacement for the injured Seaman to equalize three minutes after the restart.
Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late on Phil Neville, playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored by Ioan Ganea in the 89th minute.
Romania's relief was tempered by tough opposition in the last eight, and Italy, who would end up seconds from being crowned European champions in an agonizing final, comfortably saw them off 2–0 in Brussels.
With fans' hero Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in Bucharest against the Balkan upstarts, but Slovenia took the lead before the hour through Mladen Rudonja.
Right wing-back Cosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and Slovenia, with maverick manager Srečko Katanec, were in a major tournament again.
Coach Victor Pițurcă changed the formation from 4 to 3–3 to 4-1-3-2, with Adrian Mutu pushed inside from the left wing to partner Daniel Niculae up-front, with the other winger Bănel Nicoliță kept on the bench.
They took the lead in the second half when pounced on a slack backpass by the Italian right-back Gianluca Zambrotta but Christian Panucci equalized barely a minute later with a tap-in from a corner kick.
Italy needed to hold on to the point to have any chance of qualifying for the quarter finals and feared the worst when Romania were awarded a penalty inside the last ten minutes.
With Italy taking a first-half lead against a France side reduced to ten men, it became apparent that Romania needed to beat the Netherlands to qualify.
The campaign started in September 2008: they began disastrously, losing 3–0 at home to unfancied Lithuania in Cluj-Napoca before scraping an unconvincing 1–0 win in the Faroe Islands, midfielder Răzvan Cociș scoring the goal.
Romania raced into a 2–0 lead in Constanța with goals from Florentin Petre and Dorin Goian but France pulled one back before half time through Franck Ribéry.