Romania men’s teams have been stuck into a purgatory over the last decade, failing to make the cut for the IHF Men’s World Championship. In the senior’s case, Romania have not appeared on the biggest of stages since 2011. The junior team returned to the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship for the first time since 2015.

And they came back with a bang, a 29:25 win over the bronze medallists of the previous edition, at Germany/Greece 2023, Iceland, delivering a fantastic overall performance, on both sides of the ball.

It helped that Romania had several players who were featuring already at senior level in the domestic league, such as Bogdan Voica, Codrin Radu or Alexandru Focșăneanu. But none of them had the experience of Daniel Stanciuc, who has already played in the EHF Champions League Men and for the senior side.

Stanciuc turned 21 years old in March and this season has definitely been the best of his career. He moved to Romanian champions Dinamo București in summer of 2023, scoring eight goals in the EHF European League Men in his maiden season for the club, but in the 2024/25 season, under coach David Davis he did not get a lot of playing time, scoring only eight goals in the recently-ended season in the EHF Champions League Men.

However, Stanciuc got more and more confidence for the Romania senior men’s national team, where he excelled in the EHF EURO 2026 qualifiers. He was the team’s top scorer throughout the qualifiers, with 42 goals, including a fantastic ending of the group, where the centre back scored 13 goals in the 28:24 win against Portugal and 10 goals in the 29:30 loss against Poland.

And now, he shone with a fantastic performance, 11 goals and nine assists in Romania’s win against Iceland.

“This is a big win. A big win. I think it's the victory of this generation. Indeed, many people didn't give us a chance. We believed in ourselves, we have wanted to achieve a great result for a long time. Here we are, starting this World Championship right. We want to take each match individually and show the world that we can beat anyone when we play with heart,” said Stanciuc after the win.

Despite going down early, 1:4, after the first four minutes, with some turnovers in attack, Romania bounced back and controlled the match until the end, with Stanciuc taking full responsibility in attack, despite coming after a full season with Dinamo București, the Romanian champions, and some matches played for Qatari side Al-Arabi at the end of May, where he was loaned for a few weeks.

But that did not deter Stanciuc and it did not mean he will not take this edition of the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship as a challenge.

“It is an honour to represent the country at this level. We have not been here for 10 years. That's why I feel a bit of extra pressure, having the experience at the senior level,” says Stanciuc.

Yet what is the secret of his current run of form, which has been truly spectacular, helping Romania qualify to the senior EHF EURO 2026, scoring in double-digits against both Portugal and Poland in May.

“First of all, I've had a lot of minutes playing lately. For me, that's what I feed myself on, that helps me a lot. I was also trusted in the national team by George Buricea at the senior level, and here by Adrian Petrea. They give me confidence, I take responsibility and, indeed, lately it has been very good. I can only be satisfied with this thing, to work as much as possible in everyday life and to continue on this side,” adds the Romania centre back.

Yet his life could have turned very different. Born as the youngest child between seven siblings, with two of her sisters being teachers and another one a judge, Stanciuc took up football and needed pretty much to be lured into handball to take it up.

But since he discovered the sport, he never looked back.

“Indeed, football was my first love, but since I started handball, I fell in love. I really fell in love with handball and it was my life since I was 10 years old.I do this every day, that's all I think about and I try to do it as well as possible,” adds Romania’s centre back.

Having been consistently one of the top players in the youth and junior levels in Romanian handball, Stanciuc finally got his big break two years ago, when his talent was spotted by Xavi Pascual, Dinamo’s former coach, who nurtured Stanciuc both at club level and helped him make his debut in the senior national team, when the centre back was only 18 years old.

Stanciuc credits his natural curiosity and his interest in handball for his development, as everything has worked his way until this point.

“I have always been open and wanted to learn as much as possible in everything. I like this one-on-one style, the French style. Not necessarily related to handball, but to life outside of handball, because it is the details that, in my opinion, matter the most. I think that every player has to do this, to try to document themselves as much as possible, to take certain examples,” adds Stanciuc.

And while not many Romanian players are featuring at clubs outside of the country, Stanciuc has a clear dream, to make the move and learn even more, from the best.

“First of all, I personally really want to go abroad. At this moment I am satisfied. At Dinamo I think I have developed quite a lot. I have had teammates with great experience, but I believe that great handball is truly out there. I honestly urge all Romanian players or those who have the chance, I urge them to go out there and experience great handball,” concludes the Romania centre back.