EURO 2020 Qualifier
Result: Romania 1-2 Spain
Date: 05 September 2019
Venue: Arena Nationala
Ten-man Spain maintained their perfect record in the European 2020 Championship qualifiers after edging Romania 2-1 in Group F on Thursday night at Arena Nationala.
La Roja lined-up with their fluid 4-3-3 formation, with Rodrigo, Paco Alcacer and Dani Ceballos leading the front-line while Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga was given the nod between the sticks ahead of David de Gea.
Robert Moreno's army had a positive start in their play, entering the last third quite frequently but their job was made easier in the 27th minute after they were awarded a penalty as Ciprian Deac caught Ceballos on his ankle with a raised foot inside the box.
Veteran Sergio Ramos stepped up and calmly found the breakthrough for Spain from the penalty spot, sending goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu the wrong way..
La Roja should have found a two-goal cushion with ten minutes remaining of the first stanza but goalkeeper Tatarusanu denied both Rodrigo and Alcacer from point-blank range as the visitors went in search of more goal.s
However, Alcacer eventually grabbed the second goal two minutes inside the second stanza with a simple tap -in from close range, after connecting with an inviting cross from from his former FC Barcelona teammate. Jordi Alba.
Romania pulled a goal back a minute before the hour-mark courtesy of Florin Andone's header inside the box, barely three minutes after replacing Claudiu Keseru upfront.
La Roja were losing their cutting edge in the last third and they were reduced to ten men with ten minutes remaining after Diego Llorente was shown a straight red card for bringing down George Puscas who was going clear on goal.
The hosts could not capitalise from the set-piece but they had two glorious chances in stoppage time that fell to Puscas, but he was twice denied by shot-stopper Arrizabalaga as Spain held on to clinch a 2-1 victory that maintained their perfect run so far in Group F.
