In what can justifiably be called a battle of the dinosaurs - let's face it, the warhorses outnumber the spring chickens in both camps - the flavour of this tie will be distinctly weakened if neither Romania's Georghe Hagi nor Germany's Lothar Matthaus take the field.

Hagi, 35, has a groin strain, while Matthaus, one year short of his 40th birthday, resigned the vice-captaincy in the wake of his side's 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic last weekend.

That decision by the veteran sweeper, now plying his trade in the US soccer leagues, has sparked rumours that his fitness is not really up to the levels required for Euro 2000. In truth, Romanian fans would miss Hagi rather more than the German fans would miss Matthaus.

Without Hagi - unquestionably the greatest Romanian player of all time - the rest of the team could struggle against a German unit who may be quietly smiling that for once some sections of the Press have decided to write them off already.

The win over the Czechs in Nuremberg, with goals from Carsten Jancker and two from Oliver Bierhoff - a timely return to form for him - showed that while they will do well to sustain a successful defence of the tournament, Germany could go pretty far this time round.

The midfield that worked against the Czechs - Thomas Hassler, Dietmar Hamann and Mehmet Scholl - could be rolled out in identical fashion against Romania. It could be too much for the eastern European side.

If they are indeed without Hagi, coach Emerich Jenei must surely move Dan Petrescu out of the right back position and into midfield to support the likes of Ionut Lupescu, Constantin Galca and Dorinel Munteanu. Lupescu is experienced enough, but the other two are not exactly household names in Europe, and Ienei knows it.

"Hagi is a key player," he said shortly after his side struggled to see off Greece 2-1 in their final warm-up game. "Romania has good players to replace him, but nobody can play as he does."

He also had some reservations about his defence, where another veteran - Gica Popescu - will have his work cut out.

But the coach does believe that the Valencia forward Adrian Ilie, who played for an hour in the Greek game without incident, has fully recovered from the thigh injury which saw him miss the last five weeks of the Spanish season.

Ilie proved a splendid foil to the Argentinian Claudio Lopez in Valencia's surge to the Champion's League final, and, in qualifying, scored a spectacular six goals in six games. He had an excellent World Cup two years ago too, and if he can bounce back to full match fitness - never easy for a forward - he could prove a handful for the German defence.

Germany's problems have been in not finding talent at a young enough age. And they have suffered a mauling from their Press after the loss to Holland and the draw against Switzerland earlier this year.

But take a look at their record in the European Championship. They've won it three times, been to the final twice, and have only lost four of the 26 matches they have played.

Against that pedigree, every team has every right to regard the side with caution. If Erich Ribbeck has problems with selection - can he really start without Jens Jeremies in midfield, and what about the talented Hertha Berlin player Sebastien Diesler? - he might have the confidence-boosting opening he needs.

Why? A Romania without Hagi is like Samson was once Delilah got her scissors out. In this match, their hope would appear to lie in Ilie carving up Germany's weakest area, its defence, and their own backs playing out of their skins. It could happen, but make Germany the favourites here.