last chance for Victor Piţurcă's Romania

At fifth place in Group 5, Romania's chance to qualify for the 2010 World Cup are beginning to fade away. With Serbia marching on powerfully in first place, France and Lithuania look to be looked in a battle for possible playoff spot. With this in-mind Victor Piţurcă's side must respond with an emphatic win today against Austria.

Last weeks 3-2 to Serbia in Constanţa was the tale of two halves. A strong performance in the final forty-five minutes, off-set by a pithy first half. Propelled by Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu the Tricolorii came storming back to come close to leveling but "close" was as good as it would get and another opportunity was lost. The troubled Austrians have went through a managerial chance with Karel Brückner resigning and Didi Constantini taking over but have one of most underrated striking duo's in the sport with Red Bull Salzburg's Marc Janko and Marko Arnautović of FC Twente.

Unfortunately for Victor Piţurcă he will be without the Adrian Mutu who has returned to Fiorentina to undergo knee surgery due to a injury suffered against Serbia. FC Universitatea Craiova's Florin Costea is additionally out due to suspension, which will likely cause a striking pairing of VfB Stuttgart's Ciprian Marica and Marius Niculae of Dinamo Bucureşti.