at the 1994 world cup dumitrescu played all the five games his team played in america. he was a key player in romania's surprise 3-2 victory over previous runners-up argentina, scoring the first two goals and assisting the third. his first goal came in the 11th minute and came direct via an eye-catching free kick from a wide position. argentina equalized almost instantly from a penalty but romania regained the lead minutes later through a well-worked passing move that enabled dumitrescu to score from close range. the victory enabled romania to progress to the quarter-finals; a first for the romanian national team.