Romania's Denis Alibec missed a second-half penalty which meant that his side shared the spoils with Kazakhstan in their opening 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group 9 qualifier.

The hosts dominated proceedings from start to finish but were unable to find a way past a resilient Kazakhstan defence. Neither team managed to fashion any notable opportunities in a poor first half but the game sprung into life after the break.

After Cosmin Matei had been brought down inside the penalty area under a challenge from Kazakhstan goalkeeper Samat Otarbayev, Alibec missed his spot kick. Romania continued to control the game but failed to score that elusive winning goal with both sides settling for a goalless draw.