UGLJEVIK, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Interstat) — The Romania under-19 women’s national team opened its UEFA U19 Championship qualification campaign with a 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina under-19 on Saturday, overcoming a late surge from the hosts at Novi Gradski Stadion.

A first-half goal from Alexia Niculescu and a late strike from substitute Ana Jurić proved decisive for the Romanians, who held on for the win despite a frantic final minutes that saw Bosnia and Herzegovina immediately pull a goal back.

The match, played in the Bosnian town of Ugljevik with the home designation for Romania as part of the centralized qualifying tournament, unfolded largely as projected by pre-game analysts. Statistical models had heavily favored Romania to win.

Romania established control early and broke through in the 34th minute. Forward Alexia Niculescu found the back of the net, giving her side a deserved lead. The assist was credited to defender Sara Bortea.

The first half concluded with a flurry of disciplinary actions. Romania’s Anastasia Radu received a yellow card in the 40th minute, followed by a booking for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Irina Erkić in first-half stoppage time.

The physical tone continued after the break, with Romania’s goal-setup provider Bortea seeing a yellow card in the 56th minute.

As the match entered its final stages, substitute Ana Jurić appeared to seal the victory for Romania. In the 85th minute, Jurić scored, doubling her team’s advantage with an assist from Natalija Mirković.

The two-goal cushion was short-lived. Just two minutes later, Bosnia and Herzegovina responded. Midfielder Maria Isabel Olah scored in the 87th minute, assisted by Irina Erkić, to ignite hopes of a dramatic comeback for the hosts. The goal immediately prompted a yellow card for Romania’s Natalija Mirković.

Despite the late pressure, Romania managed the remaining moments to secure the three points.

With the result, Romania U19 begins the qualification stage with a perfect record of one win and zero losses. Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 starts with zero wins and one loss. The records are identical across all competitions for both sides at this early stage of the season.

The victory aligns with the pre-match projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 2-0 victory for Romania. The organization’s ELO rating system had given Romania a 71.3 percent probability of winning the contest.