Home form could be the key for Romania as they look to overcome a 3-1 deficit against Greece when the two sides meet in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff in Bucharest on Tuesday night.
Greece are firmly in the driving seat to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, having won the first leg 3-1, thanks to a brace from the in-form Konstantinos Mitroglou. Dimitris Salpingidis got the other goal for Greece, with Romania scoring the away goal, which at the end of the tie could prove to be crucial, via Bogdan Stancu.
Romania will look to their prime home form in 2013, which has seen them win five of their last seven games. However, they come up against a Greece side that have tasted defeat only once in their last 15 games, while also winning seven matches in a row.
Greece coach Fernando Santos warned his team that the tie was far from over and Romania, who have beaten Belgium and Australia among other teams in Bucharest recently, will come into the second leg with nothing to lose.
"Nothing is decided yet," Santos said. "We need to keep a cool head. Everything will be decided Tuesday. We have the advantage after the win, but we are only halfway through.
"The players have worked hard and took advantage of the opportunities we had. We hope to do the same during Tuesday's game. We will prepare properly for the next game."
First leg goalscorer Salpingidis is also keeping his feet planted on the ground. "Of course, in theory, we have the best chance to qualify, especially after we won the first match with a two-goal difference," he said. However, the distance between winning and losing is very small, especially in big football games.
"We have to be careful in Bucharest, we have an extremely difficult mission there."
Team News: Romania have been dealt a blow as they will be without skipper Vlad Chiriches after the Tottenham defender was ruled out with a broken nose.
Greece also miss their captain with Kostas Katsouranis suspended for the second leg, while Romania's Alexander Bourceanu is out for the same reason.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 1.15 am IST start with no live coverage or official live streaming in India. To watch the match through live streaming online via Al Jazeera Sport in the Middle East and North Africa, click HERE. To catch the action live online in the U.S. courtesy ESPN, click HERE.
