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Mutu and Chivu Due Back for Romania
Adrian Mutu is expected to be healthy from Romania’s next set of World Cup qualifiers.
Photo from FIFA.
We are only two weeks away from another international match break, and while some of us will use that time to bemoan the temporary loss of club football, others will watch in bated breath as their country tries to qualify for World Cup 2010.
One country’s supporters who are in a particularly precarious position are Romania’s, who has seen the potential for winning their group increase with the turmoil surrounding former group favorites, France. Yet, Romania was inundated with injuries during their first qualifiers, leading to an embarrassingly narrow 1-0 win at the Faroe Islands after a 3-0 loss at home to Lithuania. Now, the Lithuanians have to be considered a threat to take what was thought to be Romania’s second place spot.
That is, of course, if Romania does not win the group. I still feel they can, especially if they return to health. The first step in doing that is getting Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu back for the net round of qualifiers, which starts with France on October 11.
The Fiorentina striker and the Inter Milan defender are both expected to play in two weeks. Mutu has missed the previous qualifiers with a dislocated elbow while Chivu has struggled with a shoulder injury all season. Each have returned to action in Serie A.
With a healthy squad, there is no reason why Romania can not beat France, and in doing so potentially create a small gap between them (and Lithuania) and the struggling Blues. Romania has played the better football over the last year, and until France proves it can overcome the chaos surrounding Raymond Domenech and its program, it is difficult to see them going to Romania and winning.
Nothing is impossible, especially with the talent the France team has, but with Mutu and Chivu returning for Romania, winning the group is is a reasonable goal.
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