MX23RW : Saturday, December 14 10:55:21| >> :120:40448:40448:

Mirel Radoi warns Romania of England's "great threats"

Mirel Radoi warns Romania of England's
© Reuters
Mirel Radoi's men provide the final warm-up opposition in the build-up to England's Euro 2020 campaign.

Romania boss Mirel Radoi has spoken about the "great threats" England possess in attack ahead of Sunday's meeting between the sides at the Riverside Stadium, stressing: "I'm not afraid, but we will be very cautious."

Radoi's men provide the final warm-up opposition for England in the build-up to their Euro 2020 campaign.

Asked at his pre-match press conference on Saturday which players he felt were the biggest threats on either side, Radoi said: "I cannot outline some Romanian players because that will break the surprise for tomorrow's game.

"But if we are speaking about the English players, I can say their names for one minute without taking a pause and they are all great threats for Romania.

"If we are speaking only about the offensive side of the squad, I can name for example (Harry) Kane, (Raheem) Sterling and (Marcus) Rashford, three players that can be a real threat for any opponent in the world right now.

"I'm not afraid, but we will be very cautious. We have studied them, we know that these three players, if they have free spaces, in six or seven seconds can be right in front of our goal, so we will take care in order not to give them free spaces."

While Tottenham's Kane and Manchester United's Rashford could feature on Sunday, Sterling is set to sit things out, with Southgate having said the Manchester City and Chelsea players in his squad will not be involved after playing in the Champions League final last weekend.

Romania, ranked 43rd in the world, failed to qualify for the Euros, losing to Iceland in the play-offs.

Radoi added: "We are trying to find tough opponents for Romania because we are during a change of generation related to our players. So we try to get them used to solving tough problems.

"It will be for sure a tough and aggressive team of England that we will meet tomorrow. It will be a challenge not to be only well-organised in defence, because if we concentrate only on this it will be difficult to make the positive transition and go to the attacking side.

"We will try, even if we will be forced to suffer a bit, to alternate the pressing with the defensive organisation of the game."

England open their Euros campaign by facing 14th-ranked Croatia at Wembley seven days after facing Romania.

And Radoi said: "Probably they (England) thought we are seeming like Croatia. We are using more or less the same system.

"There is of course a difference of value between us and Croatia, but when we have such opponents we can raise to the highest level."

ID:450351:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3464:
Written by
P A

Click here for more stories about Mirel Radoi

Click here for more stories about England

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
England's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring against Austria on June 2, 2021
Read Next:
The big talking points ahead of England's meeting with Romania
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
Read more about Mirel Radoi Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!