Moldova National Football Team

Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău and their head coach is Serghei Cleșcenco. Shortly before the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on 2 July 1991.

Moldova

Nickname(s)	Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
Association	Moldovan Football Federation (FMF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Serghei Cleșcenco
Captain	Vadim Rață
Most caps	Alexandru Epureanu (100)
Top scorer	Ion Nicolaescu (15)
Home stadium	Zimbru Stadium
FIFA code	MDA
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	153 2 (4 April 2024)
Highest	37 (April 2008)
Lowest	181 (October 2021)
First international
Unofficial  Moldova 2–4 Georgia  (Chișinău, SSR Moldova, Soviet Union; 2 July 1991) Official  United States 1–1 Moldova  (Jacksonville, United States; 16 April 1994)
Biggest win
Pakistan 0–5 Moldova  (Amman, Jordan; 18 August 1992)
Biggest defeat
Denmark 8–0 Moldova  (Herning, Denmark; 28 March 2021)
World Cup
Appearances	0
Best result	5th in Qualification Group (2014 qualifying)
European Championship
Appearances	0
Best result	5th in Qualification Group (2008 qualifying)
Website	fmf.md

Two of their three best results in the 2020s came during the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2024, with a win over Poland (3-2) in Chişinău, coming back from a 0-2 deficit, and a draw against Czech Republic (0-0) in Chișinău. In 2007, Moldova upset Hungary 3–0 in Chișinău in Euro 2008 qualifying. Another notable result was a 5–2 win over Montenegro during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The team has never qualified for the final stages of the UEFA European Championship nor the FIFA World Cup since first entering qualifying in 1994.

Following Moldova's 4–0 defeat to England in September 1997, British writer and comedian Tony Hawks travelled to Moldova to challenge and beat all 11 Moldovan international footballers at tennis. The feature film version of the book of the same name, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, was filmed in and around Chișinău in May and June 2010 and was released in the spring of 2012.

The Moldovan Football Federation was founded in 1990. However, the national football team of Moldova did not play an official international match until 1991, when Moldova lost to Georgia. Alexandru Spiridon was the player who scored the first goal in the history.

Moldova's first attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup was in 1998, but they failed to qualify for the tournament. Moldova has finished either last or second last in all tournament qualifying campaigns entered to date, except UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, in which they finished fifth in the seven-team Group C with 12 points.

The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying was a watershed moment for Moldova, the Moldovans came agonisingly close to a historic competitive debut for the first time, acquiring ten points in a group of five; the Moldovans also gained an impressive feat by being undefeated at home throughout the qualification, including a historic shock 3–2 comeback win over Poland and were one win away from qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024. However, a denting away loss to the Czech Republic in the final matchday killed off Moldova's debuting hope once again, as they finished fourth and were eliminated due to inferior record.

• Official sponsors: Moldtelecom, Moldinconbank, Jako, Florentino Delure, OM, Invitro Diagnostics, Cricova.

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Period
Reusch	1994–1998
Puma	1998–2000
Jako	2000–present

 

Moldova national football team plays its official games at Zimbru Stadium in Chișinău. The stadium is a privately held structure, but is under administration of FMF until 2026. The senior team, along with youth teams use Stadionul CPSM for training purposes. It is located in Vadul lui Vodă, a village along the Dniester River, approximately 25 kilometres from Chișinău.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Albania   v   Moldova

17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Albania	2–0	Moldova	Tirana, Albania
20:45 UTC+2	Asani   52' Bajrami   76'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,944 Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Moldova   v   Poland

20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	3–2	Poland	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 UTC+3	Nicolaescu   48', 79' Baboglo   85'	Report	Milik   12' Lewandowski   34'	Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 9,442 Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)

Austria   v   Moldova

7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) Friendly	Austria	1–1	Moldova	Linz, Austria
20:30 UTC+2	Gregoritsch   50'	Report	Damașcan   3'	Stadium: Raiffeisen Arena Attendance: 13,200 Referee: Robert Jones (England)

Faroe Islands   v   Moldova

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Faroe Islands	0–1	Moldova	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Rață   53'	Stadium: Tórsvøllur Attendance: 2,710 Referee: Vassilios Fotias (Greece)

Sweden   v   Moldova

12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) Friendly	Sweden	3–1	Moldova	Solna, Sweden
19:00 UTC+2	Karlsson   9', 74' Largerbielke   18'	Report	Nicolaescu   39'	Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 10,097 Referee: Antti Munukka (Finland)

Poland   v   Moldova

15 October 2023 (2023-10-15) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Poland	1–1	Moldova	Warsaw, Poland
20:45 UTC+2	Świderski   53'	Report	Nicolaescu   26'	Stadium: Stadion Narodowy Attendance: 51,672 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Moldova   v   Albania

17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Moldova	1–1	Albania	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+2	Baboglo   87'	Report	Çikalleshi   25' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru Attendance: 9,537 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Czech Republic   v   Moldova

20 November 2023 (2023-11-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Czech Republic	3–0	Moldova	Olomouc, Czech Republic
20:45 UTC+1	Douděra   14' Chorý   72' Souček   90'	Report		Stadium: Andrův Stadion Attendance: 11,653 Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)

2024

North Macedonia   v   Moldova

22 March 2024 (2024-03-22) Friendly	North Macedonia	1–1	Moldova	Antalya, Turkey
17:30 UTC+3	Miovski   45+1'	Report	Damașcan   82'	Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Attendance: 100 Referee: Damian Kos (Poland)

Cayman Islands   v   Moldova

26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) Friendly	Cayman Islands	0–4	Moldova	Antalya, Turkey
17:00 UTC+3		Report	Damașcan   28' Ioniță   31' Nicolaescu   52' (pen.) Bogaciuc   90+3'	Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Attendance: 100 Referee: Kadir Sağlam (Turkey)

Moldova   v   Cyprus

8 June 2024 (2024-06-08) Friendly	Moldova	v	Cyprus	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru

Moldova   v   Ukraine

11 June 2024 (2024-06-11) Friendly	Moldova	v	Ukraine	Chișinău, Moldova
--:-- UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru

Moldova   v   Malta

7 September 2024 (2024-09-07) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D2	Moldova	v	Malta	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru

Moldova   v   San Marino

10 September 2024 (2024-09-10) Friendly	Moldova	v	San Marino	Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru

Moldova   v   Andorra

10 October 2024 (2024-10-10) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D2	Moldova	v	Andorra	Chișinău, Moldova
21:45 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru

Malta   v   Moldova

13 October 2024 (2024-10-13) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D2	Malta	v	Moldova	Ta' Qali, Malta
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: National Stadium

Andorra   v   Moldova

16 November 2024 (2024-11-16) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D2	Andorra	v	Moldova	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
17:00 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Estadi Nacional

Current coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Serghei Cleșcenco
Assistant coaches	Vitalie Culibaba   Sergiu Secu
Goalkeeping coach	Denis Romanenco
Fitness coach	Alexei Scorpan

Manager history

Former forward and second all-time top goalscorer for Moldova, Serghei Cleșcenco is the current head coach of the national team since December 2021.

As of 26 March 2024

Coach	Nat.	Period	Played	Win	Drawn	Loss	% Won
Ion Caras		1991–1992	2	0	1	1	000.00
Eugen Piunovschi		1992	5	3	0	2	060.00
Ion Caras		1992–1997	27	5	3	19	018.52
Alexandru Mațiura (interim)		1998	1	0	0	1	000.00
Ivan Daniliants		1998–1999	14	2	7	5	014.29
Alexandru Mațiura		1999–2001	16	4	4	8	025.00
Alexandru Spiridon		2001	4	1	0	3	025.00
Viktor Pasulko		2002–2005	35	7	8	20	020.00
Anatol Teslev		2006	6	1	2	3	016.67
Igor Dobrovolski		2007–2009	30	7	9	14	023.33
Gavril Balint		2010–2011	18	5	2	11	027.78
Ion Caras		2012–2014	27	6	7	14	022.22
Alexandru Curtianu		2014–2015	10	0	4	6	000.00
Ștefan Stoica (interim)		2015	3	0	0	3	000.00
Igor Dobrovolski		2016–2017	18	2	5	11	011.11
Alexandru Spiridon		2018–2019	16	3	5	8	018.75
Semen Altman		2019	4	0	0	4	000.00
Engin Fırat		2019–2020	11	0	2	9	000.00
Roberto Bordin		2021	12	1	1	10	008.33
Serghei Cleșcenco		2021–	24	7	7	10	029.17

Current squad

The following players were selected for the friendly matches against   North Macedonia and   Cayman Islands on 22 and 26 March 2024, respectively.

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Cayman Islands.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Nicolae Cebotari	(1997-05-24) 24 May 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Zimbru Chișinău
12	1GK	Cristian Avram	(1994-07-27) 27 July 1994 (age 29)	9	0	Araz-Naxçıvan
23	1GK	Dorian Railean	(1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 (age 30)	17	0	Dinamo București
25	1GK	Alexei Koșelev	(1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 (age 30)	26	0	Lamia
2	2DF	Oleg Reabciuk	(1998-01-16) 16 January 1998 (age 26)	47	0	Spartak Moscow
4	2DF	Vladislav Baboglo	(1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 25)	9	2	Karpaty Lviv
5	2DF	Veaceslav Posmac	(1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 (age 33)	70	2	Boluspor
6	2DF	Vadim Dijinari	(1999-04-01) 1 April 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Milsami Orhei
14	2DF	Artur Crăciun	(1998-06-29) 29 June 1998 (age 25)	24	0	Puszcza Niepołomice
20	2DF	Sergiu Plătică	(1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 (age 32)	42	0	Petrocub Hîncești
21	2DF	Ioan-Călin Revenco	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 23)	23	1	Puszcza Niepołomice
26	2DF	Victor Mudrac	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 (age 30)	13	0	Petrocub Hîncești
7	3MF	Artur Ioniță	(1990-08-17) 17 August 1990 (age 33)	69	4	Lecco
8	3MF	Nichita Moțpan	(2001-07-17) 17 July 2001 (age 22)	17	2	Fakel Voronezh
10	3MF	Mihai Plătică	(1990-03-15) 15 March 1990 (age 34)	16	1	Petrocub Hîncești
11	3MF	Mihail Caimacov	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 25)	24	1	Slaven Belupo
16	3MF	Victor Stînă	(1998-03-20) 20 March 1998 (age 26)	14	2	AEL
18	3MF	Serafim Cojocari	(2001-01-07) 7 January 2001 (age 23)	11	0	Unirea Slobozia
19	3MF	Victor Bogaciuc	(1999-10-17) 17 October 1999 (age 24)	8	1	Chindia Târgoviște
22	3MF	Vadim Rață (captain)	(1993-05-05) 5 May 1993 (age 30)	45	2	Voluntari
9	4FW	Ion Nicolaescu	(1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 (age 25)	42	15	Heerenveen
13	4FW	Maxim Cojocaru	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 (age 26)	20	0	Chindia Târgoviște
15	4FW	Nicky Cleșcenco	(2001-07-23) 23 July 2001 (age 22)	5	0	Petrocub Hîncești
17	4FW	Virgiliu Postolachi	(2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 24)	19	0	Grenoble
24	4FW	Vitalie Damașcan	(1999-01-24) 24 January 1999 (age 25)	36	5	Stade Lausanne Ouchy

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Moldova squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Victor Străistari	(1999-06-21) 21 June 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v.   Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
GK	Dumitru Celeadnic	(1992-04-23) 23 April 1992 (age 32)	6	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
DF	Denis Marandici	(1996-09-18) 18 September 1996 (age 27)	10	0	Turan Tovuz	v.   Czech Republic, 20 November 2023
DF	Ion Jardan	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 (age 34)	50	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.   Czech Republic, 20 November 2023
DF	Vadim Bolohan	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 (age 37)	40	1	Milsami Orhei	v.   Czech Republic, 20 November 2023
DF	Dinis Ieșeanu	(2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Free agent	v.   Czech Republic, 20 November 2023
DF	Denis Furtună	(1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău	v.   Poland, 15 October 2023
DF	Mihail Ștefan	(2001-08-07) 7 August 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Zimbru Chișinău	v.   Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
DF	Alexandr Belousov	(1998-05-14) 14 May 1998 (age 25)	5	0	Free agent	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
MF	Cristian Dros	(1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26)	15	0	Slavia Mozyr	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
FW	Andrei Cobeț	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Torpedo-BelAZ	v.   Czech Republic, 20 November 2023
FW	Daniel Danu	(2002-08-26) 26 August 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Bălți	v.   Faroe Islands, 10 September 2023
FW	Marius Iosipoi	(2000-04-28) 28 April 2000 (age 23)	6	0	Petrocub Hîncești	v.   Poland, 20 June 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

As of 26 March 2024
Players in bold are still active with Moldova.

Most appearances

 

 

Top goalscorers

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pos
1930 to 1938	Part of   Romania										Part of   Romania
1950 to 1990	Part of   Soviet Union										Part of   Soviet Union
1994	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member
1998	Did not qualify										8	0	0	8	2	21	5/5
2002											10	1	3	6	6	20	5/6
2006											10	1	2	7	5	16	6/6
2010											10	0	3	7	6	18	6/6
2014											10	3	2	5	12	17	5/6
2018											10	0	2	8	4	23	6/6
2022											10	0	1	9	5	30	6/6
2026	To be determined										To be determined
2030
2034
Total											68	5	13	50	40	145	0/7

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pos
1960 to 1988	Part of   Soviet Union										Part of   Soviet Union
1992	Part of   CIS
1996	Did not qualify										10	3	0	7	11	27	4/6
2000											8	0	4	4	7	17	5/5
2004											8	2	0	6	5	19	4/5
2008											12	3	3	6	12	19	5/7
2012											10	3	0	7	12	16	5/6
2016											10	0	2	8	4	16	6/6
2020											10	1	0	9	4	26	6/6
2024											8	2	4	2	7	10	4/5
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total											76	14	13	49	62	150	0/8

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record											Promotion/relegation play-offs
Season	Division	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	RK		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R
2018–19	D	3/4	6	2	3	1	4	5	48th		—
2020–21	C	4/4	6	0	1	5	1	11	48th		2	1	0	1	2	2
2022–23	D	2/4	6	4	1	1	10	6	51st		—
2024–25	D	/	0	0	0	0	0	0			—
Total			18	6	5	7	15	22			2	1	0	1	2	2

By competition

Last match updated was against   Cayman Islands on 26 March 2024.

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Albania	7	0	2	5	3	15	−12	000.00
Andorra	8	5	2	1	10	4	+6	062.50
Armenia	5	1	3	1	7	5	+2	020.00
Austria	9	1	1	7	4	15	−11	011.11
Azerbaijan	12	4	5	3	10	8	+2	033.33
Belarus	9	2	4	3	7	10	−3	022.22
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Bulgaria	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	000.00
Cameroon	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Canada	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Congo	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Croatia	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	000.00
Cyprus	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Czech Republic	4	0	1	3	0	10	−10	000.00
Denmark	2	0	0	2	0	12	−12	000.00
El Salvador	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
England	4	0	0	4	0	16	−16	000.00
Estonia	5	1	1	3	1	3	−2	020.00
Faroe Islands	4	1	2	1	4	4	+0	025.00
Finland	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	025.00
France	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	000.00
Georgia	12	4	4	4	14	17	−3	033.33
Germany	4	0	0	4	3	18	−15	000.00
Greece	7	0	1	6	2	13	−11	000.00
Hungary	7	1	2	4	6	10	−4	014.29
Iceland	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Indonesia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Iraq	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Israel	8	0	3	5	6	14	−8	000.00
Italy	5	0	0	5	2	15	−13	000.00
Ivory Coast	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Jordan	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	050.00
Kazakhstan	7	3	1	3	6	7	−1	042.86
Kosovo	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Kyrgyzstan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Latvia	5	2	0	3	9	11	−2	040.00
Liechtenstein	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3	050.00
Lithuania	8	2	4	2	9	11	−2	025.00
Luxembourg	6	1	4	1	3	6	−3	016.67
Malta	7	3	3	1	7	6	+1	042.86
Montenegro	4	1	0	3	5	7	−2	025.00
Netherlands	4	0	0	4	1	9	−8	000.00
North Macedonia	4	0	4	0	4	4	+0	000.00
Northern Ireland	2	0	2	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Norway	5	0	1	4	1	6	−5	000.00
Pakistan	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00
Poland	8	1	2	5	6	13	−7	012.50
Portugal	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
Qatar	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Republic of Ireland	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00
Romania	4	0	0	4	2	15	−13	000.00
Russia	4	0	2	2	2	4	−2	000.00
San Marino	8	8	0	0	17	0	+17	100.00
Saudi Arabia	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	050.00
Senegal	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Scotland	4	0	1	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Serbia	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	000.00
Slovakia	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	033.33
Slovenia	4	0	0	4	1	10	−9	000.00
South Korea	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	000.00
Sudan	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Sweden	9	0	0	9	4	24	−20	000.00
Switzerland	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	000.00
Turkey	12	0	2	10	3	31	−28	000.00
Uganda	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Ukraine	5	0	2	3	3	6	−3	000.00
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
United States	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	000.00
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	000.00
Wales	4	1	0	3	3	9	−6	025.00
Total	282	55	67	160	227	471	−244	019.50