AGERPRES special correspondent Adrian Tone reports: Defender Radu Dragusin stated in a Wednesday's press conference, that Romania must prove that it deserves to qualify for the World Cup in the play-off with Türkiye, which will be decided by the details and not by the value of the two teams.

'We see it as a decisive match, for sure. A match in which we must prove that we deserve to go to the World Cup and we will show that on the field. Of course we believe in qualifying, if we didn't believe we wouldn't be here. The atmosphere in the team is good, it is positive, confident, but it is not enough. We prepared this match very well and the details will make the difference, we are ready for tomorrow and we must show that we deserve to go to the World Cup', Dragusin said.

The Tottenham player says Romania is ready to face the hostility of the public at Besiktas' stadium in Istanbul.

'The public will definitely be very 'warm' tomorrow. We also played with the club team in Türkiye. Here we expect a hostile environment, but there is nothing we cannot overcome and apply our plan tomorrow. The support we have from the fans matters a lot, even if we are not playing at home. They make us feel like we are at home. And we always feel them on the pitch, we feel when they push us from behind, when they sing for us and we believe that together we can achieve important things', he added.

As to his situation at the club team, where he has not played much since last year's injury, Dragusin said that he has no connection with the Romanian national team: 'The situation at the club has no connection with what is happening at the national team. I am fine'.

'The arrival of Ionut Radu is important, he is a very important player, he has excellent performances in La Liga and his presence will be a plus. But at the national team, the group and the atmosphere are very important, because that has allowed us to do important things for Romania. It is important that when one or the other is not present, the one who comes to his position does his job', the Romanian defender also said.

The Romanian national football team will meet Türkiye on Thursday in Istanbul at 7:00 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup play-off. Depending on the results of the semifinals of the play-off, on March 31 at 9:45 p.m., the national team coached by Mircea Lucescu will play in Slovakia or Kosovo. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Mihai Tenea; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)