Romania´s Euro 2016 preparations set to be hindered by players´ club duties

Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu faces a race against time if he is to unite all of his 28-man provisional squad for Euro 2016 before having to trim his selection down to 23 on May 31.

Iordanescu’s squad are set to meet for their pre-tournament preparations in northern Italy between 18 and 29 May, with friendlies against DR Congo, Ukraine and Georgia also scheduled.

However, with several players – including star playmaker Alexandru Maxim – set to be in action for their respective club sides up until the end of the month – Iordanescu may not get the chance to fully assess his squad before the cut-off deadline.

While Maxim may be featuring for Stuttgart in a Bundesliga relegation play-off, three of his team-mates are key figures for Bulgarian champions Ludogorets, who do not finish their domestic campaign until the final weekend in May.

Striker Florin Andone, who has netted 19 times in all competitions this term though failed to score during the qualification campaign, is also due to be in action for Spanish second-tier side Cordoba until June 5.

Other than the restrictions to his players’ availabilities, it has been a relatively straight-forward selection process for Iordanescu, who has stuck with a similar batch of players that ensured their place at the tournament with an unbeaten run through qualification.

Along with Maxim, other notable players in Iordanescu’s squad include Watford goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon, Fiorentina shot-stopper Ciprian Tatarusanu and Napoli defender Vlad Chiriches.

Romania face hosts France in the tournament’s opening fixture on June 10, before taking on Switzerland and Albania in their other Group A clashes.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Ciprian Tatarusanu (Fiorentina), Costel Pantilimon (Watford), Silviu Lung (Astra Giurgiu)

Defenders: Cristian Sapunaru (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Alexandru Matel (Dinamo Zagreb), Vlad Chiriches (Napoli), Valerica Gaman (Astra Giurgiu), Cosmin Moti (Ludogorets), Dragos Grigore (Al-Sailiya), Razvan Rat (Rayo Vallecano), Steliano Filip (Dinamo Bucharest), Alin Tosca (Steaua Bucharest)

Midfielders: Mihai Pintilii (Steaua Bucharest), Ovidiu Hoban (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Adrian Ropotan (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Andrei Prepelita (Ludogorets), Adrian Popa (Steaua Bucharest), Gabriel Torje (Osmanlıspor), Alexandru Chipciu (Steaua Bucharest), Alexandru Maxim (Stuttgart), Nicolae Stanciu (Steaua Bucharest), Lucian Sanmartean (Al-Ittihad)

Forwards: Claudiu Keșeru (Ludogorets), Bogdan Stancu (Genclerbirligi), Florin Andone (Cordoba), Denis Alibec (Astra Giurgiu), Ioan Hora (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Andrei Ivan (CSU Craiova)