Romania have never won a match in the competition and dating back to 1935 have beaten Monday's opponents just once in 10 meetings, with two draws.

Germany have been a national team in crisis since their World Cup exit two years ago but the defending champions are still a ominous presence, and luck is usually not on Romania's side.

"One day you have to begin," said Romania midfielder Gheorge Hagi of his side's search for a first success in the tournament.

At Euro 96 they would have grabbed that elusive victory had a goal by Dorinel Munteanu against Bulgaria which thundered against the underside of the bar and crossed the line been allowed by Danish official Peter Mikkelsen.

They were also hard done by with their exit from France 98 at the quarter-final stage, Davor Sukur stroking home the penalty in a 1-0 win. The spot-kick, given after Gheorge Popescu made contact with Aljosa Asanovic on the edge of the area, was dubious at best.

Romania's only victory against the Germans occurred in 1967 in Bucharest, but in the one European Championship meeting between the two 16 years ago, Germany won 2-1. They have enjoyed triumphs of late, however, going through qualifying for Euro 2000 without losing a game.

Hagi and his brother-in-law, former Tottenham defender Gheorge Popescu, played pivotal roles in Galatasaray's UEFA Cup title run while Dan Petrescu performed well Chelsea and Adrian Ilie was a member of Champions League runners-up Valencia.

Germany have been unimpressive since bowing out of France 98 against Croatia. Such has been their form that captain Oliver Bierhoff, the AC Milan hitman, was a doubtful inclusion in the starting line-up until he scored twice against the Czech Republic in Germany's recent 3-2 win.

But how good can a side be which relies on a 39-year-old sweeper, Lothar Matthaus, a questionable inclusion at France 98 because of his age and lack of pace?

"We are flexible and have alternative players," said goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, after Matthaus limped off in last week's warm-up victory over Liechenstein.

"He plays an important role but, as we have shown at Bayern, he is not irreplaceable."

There has been some optimism in recent days coming from legendary Franz Beckenbauer, who warned "victory is a must" against the Romanians.

"It doesn't matter who plays," Beckenbauer said. "At the back - don't let any balls through and up front lady luck will play her part. With that recipe we could even make it into the semi-finals."

As magical as the 35-year-old Hagi's play has been in his career, his fatal flaw is explosive temperament, evidenced by his sending-off against Arsenal in the UEFA Cup title game.

"Every game is going to be difficult," Hagi said. "With Germany, both teams will be wanting to make a good start and I think it's going to be a good game."

"We always play well when it matters," said Matthaus.

Germany striker Ulf Kirsten, 34, injured a nerve in his back on Sunday in a behind-closed doors training session, and coach Erich Ribbeck said: "We will wait until training on Monday to decide if he can play."

The injury to the 34-year-old is likely to open the door for Paulo Rink or Carsten Jancker.