England had looked out of sorts for the majority of the first half and Christian Chivu had given the Romanians a deserved lead.

Kevin Keegan's side struggled to put their passing game together and often looked out of sorts at the back.

But everything turned round just before the interval in a game where England need only a draw to book their place in the quarter-finals against Italy on Saturday.

Shearer scored from the penalty shot after goal-hero Chivu had brought down Paul Ince and then Owen beat the offside trap and kept his head to put England in front in first-half injury time.

Keegan opted for an unchanged line-up as he looked for the result which that guarantee his side a place in the Euro 2000 quarter-finals.

The coach kept faith with the starting 11 that defeated Germany 1-0 at the same venue on Saturday.

It meant that England needed only a point to make sure of their place in the last eight and set up a meeting with Italy in Brussels on Saturday.

He again opted for a 4-4-2 system with Paul Ince and Dennis Wise - both aged 33 - set to play the anchor roles in midfield.

But in sweltering heat it was likely that the younger legs of Steven Gerrard would have a part to play.

The Liverpool player impressed as a second half substitute in the victory over the Germans.

Ince and David Beckham were both walking a disciplinary tightrope and, if either picked up another yellow card, they would be ruled out of the clash with the Italians.

England's chances of going through had received a boost with the news that Romanians playmaker Gheorghe Hagi was suspended.

England were seeking their first victory over the Romanians since the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico.

They were also seeking to avenge a 2-1 defeat in the 1998 finals courtesy of a last minute goal from Chelsea's Dan Petrescu.

When the teams lined up for the national anthems it became apparent that Nigel Martyn would actually be playing in goal.

Seaman's name appeared on the team sheet released to the media but it was Leeds star Martyn who was handed his first match in the tournament, with no reason for the switch immediately available.

Seaman had injured himself in the pre-match warm-up although the full extent of the problem was not known at this stage.

It was Martyn's first competitive start since the European Championships qualifier in Poland last September.

He was quickly called into action when Martin Keown brought down Adrian Mutu on the edge of the area after beating the challenge of Paul Scholes.

Adrian Ilie sent his free-kick towards the top corner of the net but Martyn responded splendidly to fingertip his effort round the post.

Scholes then found Beckham in the space on the right flank but for once his accuracy deserted him and Romanian keeper Bogdan Stelea was able to collect the ball.

There was no doubt that Romania were the better side in the early stages, enjoying plenty of possession and knocking the ball around in confident style.

Keegan had demanded that the quality of his side's passing improved but there was little sign of that happening in the early stages.

Munteanu was only just too high with a 20-yard effort and then Petrescu played a reverse pass into the path of Moldovan and his fierce shot was beaten out by Martyn.

It was 17 minutes before England created their first opportunity when a long throw from Gary Neville found Owen in space inside the area.

But at full stretch the Liverpool player could only toe-poke his effort over the bar.

Chivu was booked in the 18th minute for a foul on Beckham just outside the area.

The Manchester United player took the resulting free-kick himself and Sol Campbell was only inches away from making contact when he stole in at the far post.

The Romanians continued to look dangerous and went ahead after 22 minutes.

There appeared to be no imminent danger when Chivu received the ball on the left side of the England penalty area.

He delivered what looked like an innocuous cross but ball hit the far post before bouncing into the England net.

Moldovan was credited with the goal by the stadium announcer but the former Coventry player had not made contact before the ball crossed the line.

It now meant England would go out of the competition if the result stayed the same.

England tried to retaliate but Wise was well off target from the edge of the area - and that just about summed up the inept showing by Keegan's side in the opening half-hour.

The Romanians suffered a setback when Gheorghe Popescu injured himself when tackling Beckham and he was replaced by Miodrag Belodedici.

England were being pulled all over the place by the fast-moving Romanians and Ilie should have done better when he stole in to get on the end of a cross from Contra.

He found himself completely unmarked but sent his header straight at Martyn.

England were struggling to get any rhythm into their play and Gary Neville gave the ball away to Chivu who raced 40 yards before sending a 20-yard shot just over the bar.

Any threat by England was spasmodic and inevitably any danger was being created by Beckham.

The Manchester United player sent over a wicked centre which Stelea finger-tipped off the head of Scholes.

In the 39th minute Shearer, who along with Owen had been anonymous in the opening 39 minutes, gave Keegan a lifeline with his 30th goal for his country to join Sir Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse as the fourth highest goalscorers for England.

The Newcastle striker started the move which led to the goal when he fed the ball into the path of Ince who charged into the area with a darting run. He was brought down by Chivu and the referee instantly pointed to the penalty spot.

Up stepped Shearer to send Stelea the wrong way from the penalty spot and prompted scenes of celebration among England fans.

In first-half injury time England completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes when Owen put them ahead.

Scholes played the ball over the Romanian defence into the path of Owen who narrowly beat the offside trap.

The Liverpool striker then kept his head superbly as he clipped the ball wide of the advancing Stelea before turning it into an empty net from an acute angle.