Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drew Slovenia, who had been surprise qualifiers for Euro 2000 in a playoff for a place in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. A narrow 2–1 deficit – having led through a Marius Niculae goal – after the first leg in Ljubljana was not irretrievable. With fans' hero Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in Bucharest against the Balkan upstarts, but Slovenia took the lead before the hour through Mladen Rudonja. Right wing-back Cosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and Slovenia, with maverick manager Srečko Katanec, were in a major tournament again. Romania were confident of qualifying for Euro 2004 in Portugal, drawn in Group 2 with seeds Denmark, Norway, Bosnia-Herzegovina and minnows Luxembourg. Despite a good start – a 3–0 win away to Bosnia in Sarajevo, Romania stuttered. Steffen Iversen's late goal gave Norway a surprise win in Bucharest and they were stunned at home by the Danes, 5–2, with Thomas Gravesen scoring a spectacular goal from around fifty yards out, despite leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and getting a point in Oslo, but conceded a cutting injury time equalizer in Denmark to draw 2-2. It was decisive, as they now required Norway to fail to win at home to Luxembourg to stand any realistic chance of qualifying. Eventually, the Danes got a point in Bosnia to scrape through a tight group, with Norway going to a play-off with Spain. Romania were put in a massive group for the qualifying tournament for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The Netherlands and Czech Republic were favourite to qualify. Early wins over Finland and Macedonia were unconvincing, and they were some way behind the two leaders by the time they earned a good 2–0 home win over the Czechs. They finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament. Euro 2008 Romania managed to qualify with two games still to be played, from a group featuring Netherlands and Bulgaria. Their 'reward' was a place in the so-called Group of Death, Group C alongside world champions Italy, Euro 2000 winners France and the Netherlands. Despite the tough draw, Romania performed well in their first two games