Romania managed to hold Lionel Messi’s Argentina to a nil-all draw in a friendly on Wednesday, March 5, in front of 47,000 people at the National Arena in Bucharest.
Although Argentina’s superior technical skills were on display, Romania worked hard in defense to keep the South American nation scoreless in wet conditions.
One of the pre-tournament favorites for the World Cup in Brazil, Argentina’s best chance came in the 84th minute when Messi intercepted the ball close to goal and passed to Angel Di Maria, whose shot was palmed away by goalkeeper Ciprian Tartarusanu in an impressive save.
After a sluggish start, Messi appeared to vomit briefly onto the field in the seventh minute, shortly after taking a free kick.
Romania pressured the defense early on with midfielder Alex Maxim testing Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the 33rd minute with a close-range header.
Three minutes later, Maxim’s strike hit the back of the net only to be ruled offside.
Argentina is now looking towards the World Cup while Romania, which was knocked out of the running for Brazil by Greece, is preparing for the Euro 2016 qualifiers later this year.
Shaun Turton shaun@romania-insider.com