- Young Leicester City defender Alex Pașcanu plays 90 minutes as Romania Under-21s are beaten in the UEFA U21 European Championships Semi-Final
- The Romanians lost 4-2 to Germany Under-21s in Bologna
- Wilfred Ndidi could represent Nigeria on Sunday against Madagascar in the Africa Cup of Nations
Having successfully navigated a tricky group to finish top of their standings above France, England and Croatia, Pașcanu’s nation met Germany in the last-four at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna.
After Germany took the lead through Nadiem Amiri midway through the first half, George Puscas’ penalty levelled matters before he was again on target a minute before the interval.
The Germans scored a spot-kick of their own through Gian-Luca Waldschmidt after the break, though, and while the tie looked to be finishing 2-2 after 90 minutes, Waldschmidt struck again on 90 minutes.
Mândri de voi, indiferent de rezultat❗ #LuptamImpreuna 🇷🇴 pic.twitter.com/K9IuwPYVsr
— Echipa Națională (@hai_romania) June 27, 2019
Development Squad defender Pașcanu, who started from the off, was then dismissed in injury time, before Amiri made it 4-2 in time added on to send Germany into the final, where they will now face either Spain or France in Udine on Sunday 30 June.
Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, meanwhile, remains in the hunt for international silverware as his Nigeria side continue their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Madagascar on Sunday (5pm BST kick-off).
Ndidi excelled in the 1-0 wins over Burundi and Guinea and will hope to help Nigeria, who have already qualified for the knockout stages, to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group B.