The Romanian Handball Federation has announced the new coaches of the national team

The Romanian Handball Federation announced on Tuesday the new coaching staff of Romania’s men’s national team: Sandu Iacob will be head coach, while former French international Cedric Sorhaindo will serve as his assistant. The two will make their debut on the national team bench on November 5, away against France, in the first match of the qualifiers for the 2028 European Championship.

At 49, Sandu Iacob was Romania’s captain at the 2009 World Championship. He has also coached the youth national team and was part of the senior national team staff between 2015 and 2018. At club level, Iacob has coached teams including HC Vaslui, HC Dobrogea Sud, Steaua Bucharest, CSM Focșani, CSM Bacău and CSM Sighișoara. He has also been Georgia’s national team coach.

Cedric Sorhaindo is 42 and is a former pivot for the French national team and Dinamo Bucharest, where he currently works as a manager. He won the Champions League three times with FC Barcelona, for whom he played for 11 seasons.

Romania is in Group 6 of the qualifiers for EURO 2028. After the match against France, the Tricolors will face Poland on November 8 at the new arena in Tulcea. The matches against Latvia are scheduled for March 2027, while the return fixtures against France and Poland will be played in May. The top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the final tournament hosted by Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.