TNT Sports
Chivu: 'Victory is a must'
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Published 02/09/2005 at 18:18 GMT+1
Romania skipper Cristian Chivu said only a victory would do against the Czech Republic on Saturday to revive their slim hopes of qualifying for next year's World Cup finals.Romania are third in Group One with 19 points from 10 matches, two behind the Czec
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The Netherlands lead the group with 22 points from eight matches and barring an upset the Dutch and the Czechs seem set to fill the top two places.
"We only promised good results but we failed to get them so far," Chivu said. "It's time to achieve a performance and beat a great team of the world as the Czech Republic are."
Romania were beaten 1-0 by the Czechs in Prague, one of the three defeats that have left their hopes hanging by a thread. Chivu, who missed that match because of injury, said the return match in the Black Sea port of Constanta, is the perfect chance for Romania to get back on track.
"Even if we fail to reach Germany in 2006, a win against the Czechs will mean a good start in the build-up for the Euro 2008 preliminaries," Chivu said.
Romania coach Victor Piturca will stick to his trusted four-man defence of Cosmin Contra, Gabriel Tamas, Cristian Chivu and Razvan Rat, while 37-year-old midfielder Dorinel Munteanu is expected to win his 126th cap to overtake Gheorghe Hagi's former national record.
Juventus striker Adrian Mutu, who scored twice in the 2-0 defeat of Andorra last month, could be partnered up front by Nicolae Dica of Steaua Bucharest.
"The Czech Republic have several super players in their squad fully able to compensate for (Pavel) Nedved's absence," Mutu said of his Juventus team mate who retired from international football last year.
"The game will be as difficult as with having Nedved on the field."
The Czechs' main worry is captain Tomas Galasek, who injured his knee in training on Wednesday. He could be replaced by Nuremberg midfielder Jan Polak, who says the mood in the camp is confident.
"We are going to win in Romania," Polak said. "It would be nice for me to score, but the most important is to bring home three points.
Probable Teams:
Romania: Bogdan Lobont; Cosmin Contra, Gabriel Tamas, Cristian Chivu, Razvan Rat; Florentin Petre, Paul Codrea, Dorinel Munteanu, Gigel Coman; Nicolae Dica, Adrian Mutu.
Czech Republic: Petr Cech; Zdenek Grygera, Rene Bolf, Tomas Ujfalusi, Marek Jankulovski; Karel Poborsky, Jan Polak, Tomas Rosicky, Vladimir Smicer; Milan Baros, Jan Koller
Referee: Terje Hange (Norway).
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