John O'Neill
Former Northern Ireland defender on BBC Radio Ulster

Jamie Reid is playing very well at his club and it's a friendly game and we have nothing at stake so why not throw him in?

But it's like two steps forward and one step back, the performance at Windsor was as good as we had seen for a long time. It was Lewis' best game and unfortunately he's missing tonight and circumstances mean Ballard isn't here either.

There's only two players in this team that have scored, it's going to be very difficult for them.

Don't forget to join us on Tuesday for Northern Ireland's second friendly during this international break against Scotland, which will be broadcast on BBC Northern Ireland.

The match will be shown live on BBC Two Northern Ireland, the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas, St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson and NI winger Caragh Hamilton will join presenter Stephen Watson at Hampden Park, with Thomas Kane on commentary.

The game (19:45 GMT) will also be broadcast live on BBC Scotland and BBC Three.

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Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has added former captain Steven Davis to his backroom team for the friendlies against Romania and Scotland.

Davis, 39, was forced to retire in January after being sidelined for over a year with a serious knee injury.

The former Rangers midfielder holds the UK men's international caps record with 140 appearances.

O'Neill says NI will "evaluate" Davis' role going forward.

"A lot of things will depend on the longer term really on what Steven's next role in football is," O'Neill told BBC Sport NI.

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Northern Ireland defender Conor Bradley says his meteoric rise at Liverpool this season has been "a bit of a whirlwind'.

The 20-year-old scored his first Liverpool goal in January and won the Carabao Cup a month later.

"To get out there playing for Liverpool is brilliant but to get my first goal and first couple of assists has been unreal," he told BBC Sport NI.

"It's pretty special what's happened and I just want to keep it going."

Read more from Bradley on Liverpool and NI's double-header of friendlies, here.

Romania are preparing for Euro 2024 this summer after topping their qualifying group, finishing ahead of Switzerland with six wins and four draws in their 10 games.

They are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions since losing 2-1 to Slovenia back in November 2022, winning their last three games in a row.

Edward Iordănescu's side sit 45th in the Fifa rankings, with Northern Ireland 30 places below their opponents.

Romania are also are unbeaten in their last four games against Northern Ireland.

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The only new face in Michael O'Neill's squad for this double-header is Stevenage forward Jamie Reid, who earned a first call-up after impressing with 21 goals in all competitions this season.

Reid, 29, qualifies for Northern Ireland through his Belfast-born grandmother, and won two under-21 caps in 2013.

He will hope to take his club form onto the international stage on his maiden appearance for his country this evening.

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Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI

It's a youthful Northern Ireland team, to say the least. The average age of the starting XI is 23.5 and debutant Jamie Reid is the oldest player at 29.

The average caps across the team is just 14.5. Paddy McNair has 67 caps, then it drops to Jordan Thompson with 35....and then only three other players break double figures - 20-year-olds Conor Bradley and Shea Charles on 13 caps and 22-year-old Trai Hume on 10.

So yeah, it's youthful. Let's see if they play without fear.

Northern Ireland

Michael O'Neill makes five changes to the side which beat Denmark 2-0 at Windsor Park in November.

Jamal Lewis is injured and Dale Taylor is with the Under-21 squad. In come Brodie Spencer and Paddy Lane in their places.

George Saville and Dion Charles are not included in the squad, with Jordan Thompson and Jamie Reid coming in. Reid makes his international debut.

Ciaron Brown drops to the bench, to be replaced by Conor Bradley, as Paddy McNair captains the side.

Romania: Nita, Mogos, Dragusin, Burca, Manea, Cicaldau, R. Marin, Man, Stanciu, Coman, Puscas

Subs: Moldovan, Tarnovanu, Ratiu, Sut, M. Marin, Alibec, F. Tanase, Mihalia, Hagi, Rus, Dragus, Morutan, Sorescu, Olaru, Racovitan.

Northern Ireland: Hazard, Bradley, Hume, Toal, Spencer, S Charles, McNair, Lane, Thompson, Price, Reid.

Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Southwood, Brown, Donnelly, McMenamin, Marshall, Lavery, Smyth, McCann, Boyd-Munce, Magennis.

Northern Ireland have lost their last four away matches, with their last win on the road coming at San Marino in March 2023.

A win this evening would certainly be a morale boost with a trip to Hampden Park on the horizon next week.

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Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles says the side's 2-0 win over Denmark which completed their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in November gave them "a boost of confidence".

The victory ended a disappointing campaign for Michael O'Neill's side, with their only other wins coming in their two matches against San Marino.

"It will be good to see where we are at as a team," Charles told BBC Sport NI ahead of the first friendly against Romania.

Read more from the Southampton midfielder and Bolton defender Eoin Toal here.

Image source, Press Eye

This evening's game will take place at the impressive National Arena in Bucharest.

The stadium has a capacity of 55,600, as well as a retractable roof.

Image source, Getty Images

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Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI

"There will maybe be a couple of difficult nights along the way but that is all part of the process.

"But the most important thing is that we develop a team that can be together and compete at international level for a long period."

Michael O'Neill has spoken many times about the long-term nature of his second tenure as Northern Ireland manager.

After losing senior player after senior player in an injury-hit Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, he has had little choice but to "accelerate" younger players into his set-up.

While it has led to short-term pain - the opportunity to qualify for the Euros from a group lacking any of Europe's heavyweights was missed - O'Neill's objectives have switched and his focus is on the future.

Read more from the NI manager here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Good evening and welcome to our coverage of this evening's international friendly between Romania and Northern Ireland in Bucharest.

It will be both teams' first fixture of 2024 and they are at contrasting ends of their journeys under their respective managers.

Romania are preparing for their return to the European Championships after an eight year absence after a fine qualifying campaign, where they were unbeaten in their 10 games.

Northern Ireland under Michael O'Neill meanwhile, are looking to draw a line under their disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and generate momentum with a young squad ahead of the Nations League in September.

They come into the game buoyed by their 2-0 win against Denmark in their final qualifier in November.

This is the first of a double-header of friendlies for O'Neill's side against opponents who are playing in Germany in the summer, with NI taking on Scotland on Tuesday at Hampden Park.

We will keep you up to date with all the action in Bucharest as we have live text commentary of the game, which you can also listen to on BBC Sounds and Radio Ulster, with highlights and reaction to follow later this evening.

Thanks for joining us, enjoy!

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