DARK DAY FOR MOLDOVIAN FOOTBALL

Moldovian football suffered its darkest day on March 28, 2021 during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Denmark in the European section. Moldova were hit for eight by their hosts in Group F of the European qualifiers. It was the second game of the group for the two teams.

Denmark thrashed Moldova 8-0 at home to inflict a big defeat on their opponents. It is theheaviest loss for Moldova since they began competitive football.The result was a big blow for Moldovian football as it went a long way to extinguish the faint hopes of Moldova qualifying for the World Cup next year even if it is still mathematically possible.

Moldova were in the sixth and last pot ahead of the draw for the first round of the World Cup qualifiers in the UEFA section. At the end of the draw held in December 2020, Moldovian football fans discovered that their team was drawn with top seed Denmark, Israel, Scotland, Austria and the Faroe Islands.

Moldovianfootball almost made a bright start to the qualifiers in the first round of games in Group F if not for thelate equaliser from Meinhard Olsen for the Faroe Islands. Moldova led for the majority of the game after the opening goal from Ion Nicolaescu inside nine minutes. The late goal from Faroe Islands player Olsen denied Moldova a fantastic home win to start their Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

The draw at home to the Faroe Islands was followed by the collapse in Copenhagen against Denmark. Kasper Dolberg and MikkelDamsgaard scored twice each to help their country to an 8-0 win over Moldova. The record defeat for Moldova in their second game of the qualifiers then came before the defeat to Israel at home.

Moldovawere not able to bounce back from the record defeat to the Danish team after they were beaten 4-1 at home. With one draw and two defeats in the first three games of the expected 10-game qualifiers in Group F, it is safe to say that something miraculous has to happen for Moldovian football to be in contention for a World Cup spot.