Gheorghe Hagi believes his international career is over - because biased refereeing will prevent Romania from pipping England for a Quarter-final place.

The temperamental playmaker, making his international swansong at Euro 2000, is suspended for Tuesday's Group A showdown after collecting his second yellow card of the tournament in the dramatic 1-0 defeat by Portugal on Saturday.

Romania need a victory to reach the next round but, despite fighting talk from Chelsea's Dan Petrescu and Galatasaray's former Tottenham defender Gica Popescu, Hagi himself is pessimistic.

'This is goodbye for me,' said Hagi. 'I think Romania is a little team in Europe and, because of that, the referees don't let us play football. The referee gave me a yellow card for doing nothing. That is what it is like here for the little teams, it is not good to play against the big teams like Portugal, Germany and England.

'Maybe we can give you a surprise, maybe Romania can beat England and I will play in the Quarter-finals. We have a little chance but only a little chance.

'Romania are good enough to beat England, I believe this, but it will be difficult. It is sad because I wanted to play against England. If it is the end, I can look back and say I am proud of my career for Romania.'

Hagi's complaint about the booking was a little ill-founded, given the way he clattered into Joao Pinto from behind, but no indiscretion could ever tarnish his status as the hero of the Romanian squad.

Petrescu, for one, would like to give one of the most skilful and inventive players of his generation a more fitting send-off than an injury-time defeat in a dire group match.

'Hagi is the most important player in our team but we can play without him,' said the man whose late goal condemned England to a shock 2-1 defeat at the last World Cup in Toulouse. 'We just have one result to go for - a victory - and England probably have to do the same.'

Popescu said: 'I have had a great run of results against England in the past and we must be confident of beating them again. We beat them in France 98 and there is no reason why we can't do it again. England found us very difficult to beat then and they would be wrong to think it will be easier this time.'

Keegan and his team would do well not to be misled by the talismanic Hagi's absence.

Without their little general, the Romanians should certainly be less dangerous but, in Hagi's field sergeant Dorinel Munteanu, they still have enough ammunition to shoot holes in England's chances, particularly with Valencia forward Adrian Ilie and former Coventry striker Viorel Moldovan in tandem.

Indeed, it could well become a nervous occasion for England supporters.

On Saturday, Romania were no better or worse than Portugal, who booked their passage into the Quarter-finals thanks to a headed winner from substitute Costinha deep into stoppage time.

The midfielder had only replaced Manuel Rui Costa in the 87th minute and, as he rose to glance Luis Figo's precise free-kick past Bogdan Stelea, the entire Portuguese bench raced on the pitch to celebrate.

They deserved their place in the knock-out stages of this tournament following that stirring fight-back to beat England 3-2.

As for whether or not the losing party in that thriller can join them in the next phase of the competition, even England's friends in the Portugal camp are not convinced.

Everton defender Abel Xavier's heart tells him his 'other' team can succeed but his head is unsure whether they have enough quality to resist an all-out assault from Romania.

'We had a lot of difficulty against the Romanians and, in certain parts of the game, they played the way we would like to play,' said Xavier. 'On the plus side for England, remember they scored two goals in 20 minutes against us, which means they have real attacking ability.

'If Romania play a similar style to Portugal, which they normally do, England have the ability needed to beat them. I think the game will be a lot like our match with England, although I hope the result is different.

'You may think it will be tight because England need just a point but I think it will be more open, because there is a difference in style between the teams.

'Sometimes it takes a moment of magic from someone to open up a game. Romania have suffered a great loss because Hagi is suspended. He can win the game on his own but maybe another player can come in with motivation to do well.'

Another rollercoaster ride like England's opening game would be surely too much to bear, no matter how much it may appeal to Keegan's theatrical instincts.

Munteanu may be the key man, as he almost was against Portugal, with even Hagi deferring to his younger colleague for corners and a fair proportion of the free-kicks.

Quick and strong, at one point on Saturday, the midfielder who plays for Wolfsburg in Germany broke through four tackles before delivering a cross which just evaded substitute striker Ioan Ganea. He will need watching.

Against an England team who are not programmed to keep possession with as much patience as the Portuguese, the Romanians should enjoy more of the ball.

What they do with it will depend on how Keegan and his men approach the game. In gamblers' parlance, do they stick or twist?