20 June 2000 - England Gets Nevilled

On 20 June 2000, Romania humbled England, eliminating them from the European Championship with an 89th-minute penalty kick.

England have traditionally struggled in the Euros, advancing out of the group stages only twice from 1964 to 1996 (and failing to qualify for four of those tournaments). But they made it to the semi-finals in 1996 before losing on penalties to Germany and were looking to improve on that showing in 2000. Although they lost their opening group stage match to Portugal, they beat Germany and needed only a draw against Romania to advance to the quarterfinals.

Playing before a crowd of 30,000 at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Romania took the lead with a 22nd-minute goal from defender Cristian Chivu, whose attempted cross missed its target and instead found the top corner of the net. But England scored twice before the break, first after a Chivu foul on Paul Ince resulted in an Alan Shearer penalty kick (41'), then when Michael Owen found the net four minutes later.

Midfielder Dorinal Munteanu equalized three minutes after the restart and England appeared content to play for the draw. In the 89th minute, though, Romanian striker Viorel Moldovan charged into the England box and was brought down by left back Phil Neville. The referee awarded the penalty and substitute Ioan Ganea converted it with ease. The kick sent England home and put Romania through to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Italy, 2-0.

26 March 1986 - Scotland's Only Centurion

On 26 March 1986, Liverpool striker Kenny Dalglish won his 100th cap for Scotland in a 3-0 win over Romania. To date, he is the only player to reach that milestone for the Scottish national team.

He received his first call-up in November 1971, coming on as a substitute in a Euro '72 qualifying victory over Belgium. Although it took him over a year to get his first goal, he eventually scored 30 times for Scotland to match the record set by Denis Law.

Against Romania, manager Alex Ferguson gave the armband Dalglish, his seventh and last time to captain the national team. Scotland's starting XI included nine future managers, including two--Dalglish and midfielder Graeme Souness--who went on to take charge of Liverpool. Dalglish also managed Celtic during his career, as did another teammate of his that day, midfielder Gordon Strachan.

Strachan opened the day's scoring in the 18th minute and was followed shortly by defender Richard Gough (27'). Gough's partner in defense, Roy Aitken, added the third in the 81st minute, his only goal in 57 appearances for Scotland.

Dalglish, meanwhile, went on to earn two more Scottish caps before retiring from the national team later that year.

29 October 1933 - When Crossing The Border Crosses The Line

On 29 October 1993, Switzerland and Romania drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier. FIFA, however, later concluded that the Romanians had used an ineligible player and awarded the Swiss a 2-0 win instead.

The controversial match was the second in the three-team qualification group that also included Yugoslavia. The Swiss had already drawn with Yugoslavia, while Romania had not yet played. The teams met at the Wankdorf Stadion in Bern, where the visitors went up 0-2 with goals from forwards Gratian Sepi (18') and Stefan Dobay (65'). Switzerland pulled back within one after a score from forward Erwin Hochstrasser (75'), then midfielder Ernst Hufschmid converted an 80th-minute penalty to earn what they thought was a draw.

After the match, Swiss officials complained to FIFA that Romania had illegally included forward Iuliu Baratky (pictured). Baratky had made nine appearances for Hungary between 1930 and 1933, making him ineligible to play for neighboring Romania. In response, FIFA recorded the match as a 2-0 Swiss victory. Romania went on to defeat Yugoslavia 2-1 to qualify for the tournament anyway.

Meanwhile, Baratky continued to play for them, making a total of 20 appearances and scoring 14 goals from 1933 to 1940.

10 July 1994 - The Swede Taste Of Victory

On 10 July 1994, Sweden advanced to the World Cup semi-finals by beating Romania on penalties, 2-2 (4-5).

The match, played before a crowd of 83,500 at Stanford Stadium in California, took a while to get going as the teams were scoreless deep into the second half. But in the 78th minute, Sweden were awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out. While appearing ready to send the ball over the wall, the Swedes employed a little trickery and rolled it down the right side where an onrushing Tomas Brolin turned and fired it into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Romania equalized 10 minutes later with a free kick of their own that dropped in the box to the feet of Florin Răducioiu, who drilled it into the top of the net. Răducioiu then put the Romanians ahead in the 101st minute with a strong shot from the top of the box, but Sweden drew level in the 115th minute as a long cross found forward Kennet Andersson in front of the goal for an easy header.

In the ensuing shootout, the first kick fell to Sweden's Håkan Mild, who sent the ball well over the bar. But after three successful Romanian kicks, Swedish keeper Thomas Ravelli (pictured) saved the fourth. Even at 4-4 after five kicks each, the shootout went into sudden death. After Henrik Larsson converted for Sweden, Ravelli the shot by Miodrag Belodedić for the win.

Sweden advanced to the semifinals where they lost to Brazil, 1-0, but they beat Bulgaria 4-0 in the third place match to secure their best finish since finishing as runners-up in 1958.

15 November 2006 - The Reign Of Spain Starts After This Game

On 15 November 2006, Romania defeated Spain, 0-1, in a friendly played in Cadiz. The match was Spain's last loss before going on a world record-setting run of 35 matches unbeaten, a streak that also saw them win the 2008 European Championship.

Spain limped into the match against Romania, having been eliminated from the 2006 World Cup by France in the first knockout round and losing their last two matches, a couple of 2008 UEFA Euro qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Sweden. Manager Luis Aragonés shook up his side for the match, calling up Valencia star David Silva for his senior debut along with Celta Vigo's Angel Lopez and Sevilla's Javi Navarro.

Silva threatened a couple of times during a scoreless first half, but Romanian striker Ciprian Marica notched the match's only goal when he beat Iker Casillas with a low second-half shot into the far corner.

Spain rallied after the loss, rattling off a string of 35 unbeaten matches (32 wins, 3 draws) over the next three years. The highlight of that streak was the 1-0 win over Germany in the 2008 UEFA Euro Final. The United States finally ended the run, beating Spain 2-0 on 24 June 2009 in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.

10 October 1998 - Totti Gets Capped

On 10 October 1998, Roma midfielder/second striker Francesco Totti earned his first cap for Italy in a 2-0 win over Switzerland in a Euro 2000 qualifer.

Totti, who was born in Rome in 1976, has played his entire club career for hometown club Roma, whom he joined as a youth player in 1989. By the time the 22-year old Totti received his first call-up to Italy's senior side, he had already won international honors for his country, claiming the 1996 UEFA U-21 European Championship.

In the Euro 2000 tournament, Totti helped the Azzurri reach the Final, contributing a goal to their 2-0 win over Belgium in the group stage, another in their 2-0 win over Romania in the first knockout round, and a penalty kick in their 0-0 (1-3) win over Holland in the semi-finals. Italy lost to France 2-1 in the Final, however, after French striker David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in the 103rd minute. Totti's play earned him inclusion in the 23-player UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Totti and Italy got their revenge on France six years later when they defeated Les Bleus in the 2006 World Cup Final, Totti's last match for Italy. In all, he made 58 appearances for the Azzurri, scoring 9 goals.

25 June 1990 - Nine Months Later, Many Irish Babies Were Born

On 25 June 1990, the Republic of Ireland, competing in its first ever World Cup, defeated Romania 5-4 on penalties before a crowd of 31,818 at Genoa's Stadio Luigi Ferraris. The win sent Ireland through to the quarterfinals, which is the farthest the Republic has ever advanced in World Cup competition.

Ireland survived the group stage despite scoring only two goals and drawing all three matches with the other members of the group: 1-1 against England, 0-0 against Egypt, and 1-1 against the Netherlands. The Netherlands had similarly drawn all of its group matches and scored only two goals, so that Ireland and the Dutch side were tied for second place in the group, even on points (3), goal differential (0), goals for (2), and goals against (2). In order to determine the final placement, FIFA officials drew lots. Ireland won to claim second place. (The Netherlands still advanced, as their 3 points placed them among the top four third-place teams, all of whom qualified for the knockout rounds under the rules in place that year.)

The Irish seemed intent on drawing the match with Romania as well. While the Romanians played with flair and style, the Irish matched them with grit and determination. Neither side was able to score through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, so the match went to penalty kicks. Even then, there was little to separate the sides, as the first four kickers from each team successfully converted.

That changed, however, when Romanian forward Daniel Timofte stepped up to take his side's fifth kick. Timofte, who had come on as a substitute in the 96th minute, sent his shot to the left, where Irish keeper Pat "Packie" Bonner (pictured) dove to meet it and swatted it away. Forward David O'Leary, who had come on in the 95th minute, then put his shot past Romanian keeper and captain, Silviu Lung, giving Ireland the victory.

After the match, the Irish team's English manager, Jack Charlton, told the press: ''The pubs will sell more booze tonight than they have in the last year. There's going to be a party this town has never seen the likes of before, a party Dublin has never seen the likes of before." Although Ireland lost in the quarterfinals to Italy, the shootout with Romania has become famous and was later immortalized in the film version of Roddy Doyle's The Van.

[Note: The clip below has some language that might be considered NSFW.]