Mircea Lucescu leaves role as Romania coach after World Cup play-off defeat

[p]The ‌decision comes after a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/romania-IaD8jZpU/turkey-7s-QeijuHo5/?mid=2qgnUDXp"]1-0 ‌defeat[/a] to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a] in ‌the World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final on March 26.[/p][p]The ‌80-year-old was taken to ⁠hospital ‌last week after falling ill ​during a meeting before a training session, ​ruling him out of the team’s subsequent friendly in ⁠Slovakia ​on Tuesday.[/p][p][b]The departure concludes Lucescu's second stint as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/romania/IaD8jZpU/"]Romania[/a] coach. During his ‌first spell in charge in the early 1980s, he led the country to the 1984 European Championship, the country’s first appearance at the tournament.[/b][/p][p]The FRF said Lucescu was ‌expected to take on ​a new role within ‌the organisation shortly. The search for his successor to lead the next qualifying cycle has already ⁠begun.[/p]