Romania head coach Edward Iordanescu believes his current generation of players have limitless potential following their triumph over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 opener.

The 46-year-old watched on as his side claim their biggest win at an international tournament, building on their impressive qualifying campaign. 

Captain Nicolae Stanciu opened the scoring with a fine effort from distance, becoming the first player ever to score at the tournament while playing for a Saudi Arabian club. 

Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus would secure the triumph in the second half, with both strikes assisted by Dennis Man, the first Romanian to provide multiple assists in a major tournament match since Gheorghe Hagi at the 1994 World Cup. 

The sound of the full-time whistle sparked emotional scenes for the travelling Romanian contingent as they confirmed just their second win at the European Championships.

Iordanescu masterminded a landmark victory for his nation, but was quick to dismiss labelling the win as a victory of a lifetime, heaping praise on the current crop of talent within his ranks. 

"I'd like to thank every Romanian everywhere in the world. I know that they were with us today. It was a fantastic effort by my team. If you had any doubts, I think you can believe me now that this is a great team. Congratulations to the lads. It's just incredible.

"Since I joined the national team I've had difficult moments. It's not always been easy. We've had other big performances. We've had golden generations with big performances, but this generation represents the soul.

"This team has put the biggest effort into everything. As big a heart as this team, nobody has ever had. This generation is limitless."

Romania travel to Cologone to face Belgium in their penultimate group fixture before facing Slovakia on June 26. 

Romania stormed to a 3-0 win over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 opener on Monday, with Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus scoring in their first victory at the European Championships for 24 years.

Ukraine dominated possession early on but a loose pass from Andriy Lunin put them in trouble after 29 minutes. Dennis Man intercepted and found Stanciu on the edge of the area, and the Romania skipper shaped a wonderful first-time effort into the top-left corner.

Sanciu later clipped the crossbar directly from a corner as Romania grew in stature, and they had their second goal seven minutes into the second half.

Marin came onto a loose ball and struck a low shot from 25 yards out, which Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin allowed to squirm under his dive and into the bottom-right corner.

Ukraine's problems worsened within another four minutes, as Dragus stayed onside to tap Man's cross into an unguarded net following a short corner routine.

Roman Yaremchuk hit the crossbar with a lobbed attempt in stoppage time, but that was as close as Ukraine came to a goal, as Romania recorded their first win at the Euros since a memorable 3-2 victory dumped England out of the 2000 tournament.

Data Debrief: Dennis is the Man

There were standout performances throughout the Romania lineup, with Dragus leading the line superbly and Tottenham's Radu Dragusin looking every inch the modern ball-playing centre-back. 

However, it was Man who played the starring role with two assists. He is the first Romanian player to tee up two goals in a major tournament game since the great Gheorghe Hagi against Colombia at the 1994 World Cup.

Serhiy Rebrov believes his team will display "the spirit of Ukraine" in their Euro 2024 opener against Romania on Monday.

Ukraine qualified for the tournament in Germany, with that success coming against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of the nation, which began in February 2022.

Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, eventually going down to England, and they could be a team to keep a close eye on.

Coach Rebrov is confident his team will take plenty of spirit into the competition, telling reporters: "All the players, me personally, are getting lots of messages from our fighters, from our soldiers, from our friends who are now fighting for the freedom of Ukraine.

"I am sure they are very proud of us, we are very proud of them. They are telling [us], when you are here 'show the spirit of Ukraine'. This tournament is really about the spirit of our country.

"It is very good and very important for Ukraine to be in this forum.

"Because all Ukrainians want to be a European nation. Of course now in our country, football is not in first place. There are lots of people dead, lots of kids dead. Now is a very difficult time for Ukraine."

Rebrov is managing at his first major international tournament. The former Tottenham striker did not appear for his country at the Euros, but did play four games at the 2006 World Cup, scoring in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

Defender Ilya Zabarnyi added: "For me it is a great honour to represent Ukraine. You know what times we are going through now. I feel incredible responsibility for my actions but I'm not worried about my game.

"We understand where we are and what we need to do. It is football and we need to play with a cold head."

Belgium and Slovakia are the other teams Ukraine are set to contend with in Group E.

Ukraine have failed to score in six of their nine group stage games at the Euros, scoring exactly two goals in each of the other three – 2-1 wins over Sweden (2012) and North Macedonia (2020), and a 2-3 loss to Netherlands in 2020.

Serhiy Rebrov believes his nation will display "the spirit of Ukraine" in their Euro 2024 opener against Romania on Monday.

Ukraine qualified for the tournament in Germany despite being invaded by Russia, beating Iceland in a play-off to secure their spot in Germany.

Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 and are looking to do better this time around.

Rebrov believes his team will take spirit into the competition, telling reporters: "All the players, me personally, are getting lots of messages from our fighters, from our soldiers, from our friends who are now fighting for the freedom of Ukraine.

"I am sure they are very proud of us, we are very proud of them. They are telling [us], when you are here 'show the spirit of Ukraine. This tournament is really about the spirit of our country."

Ukraine have now qualified for four European Championships in a row, and Rebrov hold hopes his team can improve on their quarter-final exit at Euro 2020.

"It is very good and very important for Ukraine to be in this forum," Rebrov said.

"Because all Ukrainians want to be a European nation. Of course now in our country, football is not in first place. There are lots of people dead, lots of kids dead. Now is a very difficult time for Ukraine."

Defender Iliya Zabarni is proud to represent his nation on the international stage,

"For me it is a great honour to represent Ukraine," Zabarni said. "You know what times we are going through now. I feel incredible responsibility for my actions but I'm not worried about my game.

"We understand where we are and what we need to do. It is football and we need to play with a cold head."

Serhiy Rebrov believes will nation is display "the spirit of Ukraine" in their Euro 2024 opener against Romania on Monday.

Ukraine qualified for the tournament in Germany despite being invaded by Russia, beating Iceland in a play-off to secure their spot in Germany.

Ukraine reached the quarter finals of Euro 2024 and are looking to do better this some around.

Rebrov believes his time will take spirit into the competition, telling reporters: ""All the players, me personally, are getting lots of messages from our fighters, from our soldiers, from our friends who are now fighting for the freedom of Ukraine.

"I am sure they are very proud of us, we are very proud of them. They are telling [us], when you are here 'show the spirit of Ukraine. This tournament is really about the spirit of our country."

Ukraine have now qualified for four European Championships in a row, and Rebrov hold hopes his team can improve on their quarter-final exit at Euro 2020.

"It is very good and very important for Ukraine to be in this forum," Rebrov said.

"Because all Ukrainians want to be a European nation. Of course now in our country, football is not in first place. There are lots of people dead, lots of kids dead. Now is a very difficult time for Ukraine."

Defender Iliya Zabarni is proud to represent his nation on the international stage,

"For me it is a great honour to represent Ukraine," Zabarni said. "You know what times we are going through now. I feel incredible responsibility for my actions but I'm not worried about my game.

"We understand where we are and what we need to do. It is football and we need to play with a cold head."

Troy Parrott proved the last-gasp hero as Ireland stole a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary, who suffered a blow less than two weeks before their Euro 2024 campaign starts.

Adam Idah opened the scoring in the first half at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, only for Adam Lang to level for the visitors four minutes later.

Yet Marco Rossi's team, who face Switzerland in their Euros opener on June 15, fell to late defeat as Parrott delivered a 92nd-minute winner for the home side.

That late strike ended Hungary’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) since losing 2-0 to Italy in a Nations League match back in September 2022.

Rossi may not be too concerned as that run was their longest undefeated streak since an 18-match streak between September 1954 and November 1955.

Hungary will also take comfort from the dominance of Dominik Szoboszlai, who created six chances in this match, the most of any player on the pitch and the same amount as all of his team-mates combined.

Switzerland, who join Hungary, Scotland and hosts Germany at the upcoming European Championship, were victorious on Tuesday after a 4-0 success against lowly Estonia.

Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri, Zeki Amdouni and Nico Elvedi were all on target at Swissporarena in Lucerne as Murat Yakin's men eased to a convincing warm-up win.

Switzerland continue their preparations for the Euros with their next friendly against Austria, who battled to a 2-1 victory over Serbia in Vienna.

Christoph Baumgartner scored one and assisted another for Patrick Wimmer before Strahinja Pavlovic pulled one back for Dragan Stojkovic's side.

Serbia open their Euro 2024 campaign against England on June 16 before meeting Slovenia, who were triumphant earlier in a day littered by international action.

Armenia's Varazdat Haroyan levelled after Jan Mlakar's early opener for Slovenia before veteran Josip Ilicic snatched a 2-1 victory for England's group opponents.

In the least entertaining game of the midweek action, Romania and Bulgaria shared a goalless draw in Bucharest.

Northern Ireland’s latest goal-scorer Jamie Reid admitted he thought his opportunity to play international football had gone before he enjoyed a “dream” debut in Friday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Romania.

At 29 Reid was the oldest player in Michael O’Neill’s youthful starting eleven but he grasped his long-awaited chance as he put Northern Ireland in front just seven minutes in at the National Arena in Bucharest.

“It was an unbelievable start and a dream debut,” Reid said. “What a way to ease your way into international football by scoring in the first seven minutes. It was unbelievable…

“To be fair I came into this camp on a bit of a drought. I hadn’t scored for five or six games at my club so I knew I was due a goal and it was timed perfectly for here.”

In the decade since making two appearances for the Northern Ireland under-21s, Reid spent time on loan at non-league sides Dorchester and Truro before leaving Exeter for Torquay, Mansfield and most recently Stevenage, where he has scored 21 goals in 44 appearances this season to catch O’Neill’s eye.

“Five years ago I was playing in the Conference South for Torquay and I probably thought this day was gone but I got my head down and worked hard every time I got the chance to play,” Reid added. “I tried to express myself and it has got me to where I am now.”

Reid, who is eligible for Northern Ireland through his maternal grandmother, first learned he was in the frame for an international call-up a week before O’Neill named his squad for this window on March 14, something he called an “unbelievably proud” moment for him and his family.

He made the most of that opportunity, with O’Neill quickly impressed by his desire to learn. On Thursday, the manager told Reid he would be starting against Romania.

Northern Ireland were on the front foot from the start in Bucharest thanks to the youthful energy of Conor Bradley, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and others, and it was Bradley and Price who combined to set up Reid.

“I’ve only just been with the squad for the last two days but the emphasis on the quick counter attack was obviously what I saw,” Reid said. “It was a pleasure to play with those guys because they are good young players and Shea has gone through and put it on a plate for me really.

“I don’t want this to be the end of my international career. I want to kick on. It will be hard because there are good players here and good competition but I’m looking forward to it and my next goal is to part of the next team.”

Michael O’Neill praised the attitude of his young Northern Ireland players after watching them take the game to Romania in an encouraging 1-1 draw in Bucharest.

Having spoken this week about a “rebirth” for Northern Ireland, putting a disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign behind them and looking to the future with a new generation of players, O’Neill picked a starting XI with an average of just 23.5 and revelled in their performance.

Debutant Jamie Reid was the oldest player in the first XI at the age of 29, yet the Stevenage striker was only seven minutes into his international career when he put Northern Ireland in front early on, before Dennis Man levelled for the Euro 2024-bound hosts midway through the first half.

“I’m very pleased with a lot of aspects of our performance,” O’Neill said. “It was a very good start, a great goal and it typified what we have in our team which is energy and legs and athleticism, and quality in terms of the quality of our play.

“I thought the attitude was excellent. We had (four) players who were 20 years of age and started and finished the game. We didn’t have a player over 30 on the pitch.

“Jamie Reid was our oldest player and it was his first cap so to come here against an experienced Romania team that have qualified for the finals and play as we did is very encouraging.”

Reid, who is eligible through his maternal grandmother, had earned his call-up with 21 goals in 44 games. It is more than 10 years since he made the second of his two appearances for Northern Ireland Under-21s, but he was given his chance from the start.

“I liked the look of him in training, he had a good energy about him, a real enthusiasm to do well,” O’Neill said. “He asked a lot of questions. I just had a good feeling about it, I thought, ‘why not?’

“We ask an awful lot of our strikers, especially away from home. They have to do a lot of work, they have to understand what’s expected of them when the team is out of possession. They have to understand, they have to be able to retain the ball and help us on the counter-attacks and I thought he did that.

“He was up against (Tottenham’s Radu) Dragusin, a very physical centre-back and he more than held is his own, this is a lad that’s coming from League One football with Stevenage and if you watched the game you certainly wouldn’t have thought that.”

While Reid claimed the headlines, it was the performance of Northern Ireland’s youngsters that felt significant as build for the future.

Conor Bradley and Shea Charles, both 20, combined to set up Reid for the goal, while Isaac Price, also 20, Brodie Spencer, 19 and the 22-year-old Trai Hume all turned in strong displays.

“It’s brilliant,” O’Neill said. “That right-hand side of the pitch, Trai, Conor, Shea Charles, Isaac Price – they could have all played for our under-21s last night.

“They have real quality, real athleticism. and they showed brilliant temperament. Isaac did a huge amount of work without reward but he gave us great balance. Conor, every time he steps on the pitch he demonstrated what his potential is as a player and again he demonstrated that as well.”

Jamie Reid scored just seven minutes into his international debut as Northern Ireland earned an encouraging 1-1 draw away to Romania.

Stevenage striker Reid, getting his first taste of international football at the age of 29, gave Michael O’Neill’s men a dream start in Bucharest.

Euro 2024-bound Romania hit back when Dennis Man beat Conor Hazard for power in the 23rd minute, but O’Neill’s men will take confidence from the way they faced up to a side now unbeaten in 12 games as Conor Bradley shone on his return to Northern Ireland duty.

Northern Ireland suffered a miserable Euro 2024 qualifying campaign last year, but this result – a repeat of the 1-1 draw in this stadium during Nations League play in 2020 – comes on the back of an encouraging 2-0 win over Denmark in their final Group H fixture in November.

They will head into Tuesday’s friendly against Scotland in Glasgow in buoyant mood.

O’Neill’s team selection reflected the “rebirth” he had spoken about on Thursday, with experience in short supply in the absence of Jonny Evans.

Reid may have been making his debut more than a decade after featuring for Northern Ireland Under-21s, but he was still the oldest player in a starting XI with an average age of 23.5.

His goal was created by two 20-year-olds, with Bradley bursting down the right before slipping the ball inside for Shea Charles on the edge of the box.

The shot was potentially on for the Southampton man, but Charles saw the run of Reid to his left and squared the ball. Reid, earning his chance after scoring 21 goals in 44 games for Stevenage this season, lifted it over Florin Nita and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Bradley was back in the side for the first time since June following injury, but the intervening period has seen him go from a loan spell at Bolton to a starring role for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and his confidence was obvious as he proved a constant menace linking up with Isaac Price.

But, for all the promise going forward, Northern Ireland let themselves down when Romania levelled.

Man was able to slip between Brodie Spencer and Eoin Toal to bring down a raking long ball from deep and then cut back inside to create an angle. His shot was straight at Hazard, starting for the fourth time in five internationals, but it went straight through the goalkeeper’s hands.

Man then cut inside from the right to hit another powerful left-footed shot, but this one was blocked by his own team-mate George Puscas in front of goal.

Romania threatened again in first-half stoppage time as the ball came in to Vasile Mogos inside the box, but this time Spencer nicked the ball away just in time.

Bailey Peacock-Farrell, masked up after breaking his nose playing for Aarhus earlier this month, replaced Hazard at the break and after a quiet start to the second half Conor McMenamin replaced Paddy Lane – making his first appearance in almost two years – just after the hour.

Both teams had lost their zip. Reid ran out of legs as he charged at goal in the 70th minute and it was his last act before being replaced by Josh Magennis, while Ali McCann came on for Jordan Thompson.

There were late chances for Northern Ireland, but Paddy McNair’s shot was straight at Nita in the 79th minute before Price’s effort was turned wide for a corner.

At the other end, Ianis Hagi shot straight at Peacock-Farrell from the edge of the area, but the draw was a fair – and promising – result.

Scotland play their third match of the World Cup against Pool B minnows Romania in Lille on Saturday night.

Here, the PA news agency assesses some of the key talking points ahead of a must-win fixture for Gregor Townsend’s side.

Scots need big win ahead of Ireland

Nothing less than a comprehensive victory will do for Scotland as they bid to stay on course for qualification for the quarter-finals ahead of what is shaping up to be a critical showdown with Ireland in Paris next Saturday. The Scots need to win with four tries this weekend to get the bonus point they require, which is something they should do with little trouble given that they touched down seven times against Tonga last weekend, while Ireland and South Africa put 82 and 76 points respectively on the Romanians. In addition to getting the bonus point, a swashbuckling attacking performance and a heavy scoreline would be desirable to ensure a degree of buoyancy is maintained ahead of the Ireland match.

Big guns preserved

Head coach Gregor Townsend clearly has a big eye on next weekend given his team selection, with 13 changes to the XV that started last Sunday’s win over Tonga. Darcy Graham and Grant Gilchrist – who captains the side in the absence of the injured Jamie Ritchie – are the only two players in the line-up who started the opening game against South Africa, when arguably the first-choice XV was sent out. Big-hitters like Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Sione Tuipulotu, Zander Fagerson and Jack Dempsey have been left out of the 23, while regular starters Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones and Rory Darge will provide a reassuring presence on the bench.

Opportunities for fringe men

The starting quartet of Hamish Watson, Luke Crosbie, Javan Sebastian and Ben Healy are getting their first action of this World Cup after being idle for the first two games, while six others – Ali Price, Cam Redpath, Ollie Smith, Jamie Bhatti, Ewan Ashman and Sam Skinner – have been handed their first start of the tournament. With Scotland boasting a relatively established starting XV these days, this is an opportunity for several players on the periphery of the squad to showcase their abilities and try to push themselves further up the pecking order, possibly even playing their way into contention for the Ireland game.

The Vern Cotter factor

A familiar face will be attempting to put a spanner in the works for Scotland this weekend. Vern Cotter, the head coach who led the Scots to within a whisker of the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, is working as a consultant for the Romanian team at the current tournament. The 61-year-old New Zealander is sure to have plenty of insight on the Scots, having had three years in charge before being succeeded by Townsend in 2017. “I have been overseeing their preparation since this year’s Rugby Europe Championship and I will be involved as an advisor for the RWC, hoping the Oaks will evolve, play some good games and exceed everyone’s expectations,” said Cotter last month.

Scotland get first taste of northern France

After spending the past month sizzling in the heat of the south of France at their base in Nice and in Marseille – where they played their opener against South Africa – the Scots have encountered grey skies and a much cooler temperature since flying to the other end of France for this weekend’s match in Lille. The players have relished the change of scenery and a reprieve from the heat that ensures they will kick off on Saturday night in conditions far more like what they are accustomed to at home in Scotland.

Peter O’Mahony says Ireland squad would be lost without “characters” like Mack Hansen in their camp at the Rugby World Cup.

Wing Hansen will make his full tournament debut against Tonga on Saturday evening following a 20-minute cameo in last weekend’s 82-8 win over Romania.

Flanker O’Mahony believes the 25-year-old is among the best in the world in his position, as well an asset to the group off the field due to his fun-loving nature.

“He’s been a breath of fresh air,” said O’Mahony. “An incredible character, good person. Straight away we knew he was a top man.

“A character but above it all he’s an incredible athlete and one of the world’s best wingers at the moment.

“The overriding factor is that he’s a good person and he’s seamlessly fitted into our squad. He’s been great craic and you need characters like that.

“The beauty of the game of rugby is the different characters you get and we’d be lost without guys like this.

“Tours like this are made for being incredibly serious but the craic that fellas like this bring make it a great place to be.”

Hansen was initially a surprise omission from Andy Farrell’s match day 23 for Ireland’s Pool B opener against Romania in Bordeaux.

But he was a late addition to the bench in place of the injured Robbie Henshaw before coming on for Keith Earls.

Head coach Farrell dismissed any suggestion that Hansen had originally been left out for disciplinary reasons.

Asked by a reporter why the Connacht player was overlooked in the first instance, Farrell interjected: “Was it you who kept on asking the question last week? Where the hell did all that come from?

“Left out of the 23? No. We wanted to give someone else a game, as simple as that.

“Mack’s up next (for media), so you can ask him the question as well, ‘was he a naughty boy?’. He definitely wasn’t.”

However, when an attempt was made to ask Hansen about his coach’s comments, O’Mahony, who was sitting alongside him, stepped in, saying: “Did Andy not just answer a question about this a second ago?”

Hansen then joked: “We had a five-minute tiff whatever and we’re fine now, so it’s all good!”

The native Australian, who made his Ireland debut in last year’s Six Nations after qualifying through his Cork-born mother, is already relishing his first World Cup experience.

“It’s an absolute privilege, I didn’t know if I’d ever get the opportunity to do so,” he said, ahead of the weekend match in Nantes.

“First start, against a good Tongan team, it’s really exciting. I was lucky enough to come off the bench last week so (that) kind of settled the nerves a bit and I can really enjoy this week.

“A lot of my mates are over at the moment, so it’s tough getting Snapchats of them smoking vapes and drinking beers at 12 in the morning while I’m trying to prepare for a game.

“But it’s good craic and it’s actually been nice getting that aspect outside of playing and seeing how much a World Cup means to people.”

Hansen attracted attention following the Romania game by stripping to his underwear after swapping shirts with an opponent and giving his shorts to a fan, much to the amusement of the onlooking Farrell.

“I’m not the first person to take their shorts off after a game, I doubt I’ll be the last,” Hansen said. “I’ve been told to keep them on this week I’ll try my hardest.”

Head coach Andy Farrell expects Ireland to be “a hell of a lot slicker” in their Rugby World Cup opener following some disjointed warm-up displays.

The world’s top-ranked nation are among the pre-tournament favourites and launch their campaign on Saturday afternoon against Pool B minnows Romania in Bordeaux.

In-form Ireland arrived in France on a 13-match winning run but having failed to fully convince during last month’s disjointed victories over Italy, England and Samoa.

Farrell is untroubled by those patchy performances – produced by largely experimental line-ups – and has backed his players to deliver when it really matters.

“It’s certainly not a concern because obviously (they were) three warm-up games with different personnel and everyone is at different stages in the pre-season,” he said.

“It’s all galvanised to one point and this is it: the start of the competition.

“The performance should be one that’s a hell of a lot slicker, let’s put it that way.

“Understanding what it’s all about and getting down to business is where we’re at at this stage. We’re looking forward to getting going.”

Farrell has named a strong starting XV for the curtain raiser, albeit world player of the year Josh van der Flier begins on the bench, while wing Mack Hansen has the weekend off, despite being available.

Fly-half Johnny Sexton is back from a three-match ban to captain Ireland, while rookie lock Joe McCarthy is among the six starting World Cup debutants.

Farrell’s 33-man squad contains a total of 18 players who have never played on the biggest stage.

The Englishman feels there are benefits to that scenario but also suggested some of the newcomers need to avoid distractions better than they did around the recent Samoa game in Bayonne, when Ireland were based in nearby Biarritz.

“It’s an advantage because of the youthfulness and the quality of those players is top drawer,” he said.

“But they also need to understand what it is that they’re coming into.

“The reason we went there (to Biarritz) is that there’s a lot of distraction that goes on, certainly when you’re in a hotel that’s on the beach.

“Some people handled that brilliantly, some people didn’t. Learning from those experiences is pretty important because you don’t get second chances after this in World Cups.

“You have to wait four more years – if you’re lucky enough.”

Unfancied Romania are ranked 19th in the world. Farrell is braced for a physical assignment amid temperatures forecast to reach around 35 degrees Celsius.

“For anyone that’s watched them, it’s pretty clear and obvious that they’re a determined group,” said Farrell.

“I think by their own recollection they would say that their point of difference is their power, their aggression, their set-piece.

“They love mauling, they love the scrummaging part of the game. They’re very direct in the forwards and pretty nippy and dangerous within the backs as well.

“We’ve scouted them well but, at the same time, more of the concentration this week has been on ourselves.”

Spain's appeal over their disqualification from the 2023 Rugby World Cup has been dismissed, with Romania taking their place in next year's tournament.

Los Leones booked a place in the competition for the first time in 24 years in March through the Rugby Europe Championship.

However, World Rugby announced in April that Spain had been booted out of the competition after being found to have fielded an ineligible player in two preliminary matches.

South African Gavin Van den Berg played twice for Spain, but his eligibility was questioned by rivals Romania, with World Rugby deciding he did not fit the criteria.

To qualify on residency rules, players involved in qualifying needed to have lived in their chosen country for 36 consecutive months.

The Spanish Rugby Federation (FER) pinned the blame on an alleged forgery of Van den Berg's passport, and they submitted new evidence to help support their appeal.

However, it was ruled inadmissible because the FER "had not adequately explained" why the evidence had not been made available prior to the first hearing.

World Rugby therefore upheld the previous decision and added that Spain – who also suffered a points deduction for fielding an ineligible player in their failed 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign – had no further right to appeal.

Romania will replace Spain in Pool B, which also contains Ireland, Scotland, reigning world champions South Africa and either an Asian or Pacific qualifier.

Portugal will take Romania's place in the Final Qualification Tournament in November 2022, with the competition itself scheduled to begin in France on September 8 next year.

Spain have been disqualified from the 2023 Rugby World Cup after being found to have fielded an ineligible player in two preliminary matches.

South African Gavin Van den Berg played twice for Spain, but his eligibility was questioned by rivals Romania, with World Rugby deciding he did not fit the criteria.

To qualify on residency rules, players involved in qualifying needed to have lived in their chosen country for 36 consecutive months.

Spain have pinned the blame on an alleged forgery of Van den Berg's passport.

World Rugby said in a statement that it had imposed a 10-point deduction from Spain's qualifying points total in European qualifying, also imposing a £25,000 fine and triggering a suspended £50,000 punishment that dated back to the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifiers and related to another ineligibility case.

Spain can appeal against the punishment, but barring a successful challenge their place at the tournament in France will go to Romania, who will face South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and an Asia/Pacific qualifying team.

The Spanish Rugby Federation said in a statement: "As this very harsh sanction occurs as a result of an alleged forgery of the aforementioned player's passport, the Spanish Rugby Federation (FER) continues with the extraordinary disciplinary procedure initiated at the time and will shortly call a press conference to offer all the explanations that are required."

Hansi Flick insists Germany deserved maximum points after coming from behind to beat Romania in World Cup qualifying Group J on Friday.

Thomas Muller's late strike earned a 2-1 victory for Flick's side in Hamburg, after Serge Gnabry cancelled out Ianis Hagi's first-half effort.

As a result, Die Mannschaft moved six points clear at the top of Group J with three matches remaining, and could seal their qualification by beating North Macedonia on Monday.

They also made it four wins from four under Flick, whose perfect start since replacing Joachim Low after Euro 2020 continues.

The former Bayern Munich boss was disappointed by the manner in which Germany conceded the opening goal – the first of his tenure – having seen the initial awarding of a penalty overturned by referee Cuneyt Cakir just 52 seconds earlier.

Nevertheless, he was pleased with the response of his players, while also paying tribute to the home support at the Volksparkstadion.

"Conceding goals always annoys me," Flick told RTL.

"We were about to have a penalty, and then we conceded. It wasn't easy for us to put up with that. 

"We were man to man at the back. A number six simply has to stay there to cover, but we also have to say it was a very good goal

"But the team gave everything and the fans pushed us. In the end, we deserved to win against a team that defended very deep."

Match-winner Muller added: "I thought we played a very committed game and tried a lot. Going into the break 1-0 behind was not a good feeling. 

"We have to compliment the fans. When we scored the second, they literally exploded. We could feel the connection on the pitch.

"Even when we fell behind, we knew that not everything we did before was bad. It's nice when you still get a result afterwards."