Romania hope the loss of three men through suspension will be counter-balanced by the return of one when they play Italy in the quarter-finals of Euro 2000 at Brussels' King Baudouin Stadium this evening.

Their optimism could prove to be well-enough founded, given that the man on his way back is talismanic captain Gheorghe Hagi, who sat out the 3-2 win over England in midweek as a result of two cautions.

The missing trio is comprised of Valencia's Adrian Ilie, Dan Petrescu of Chelsea and Deportivo's Cosmin Contra, but Hagi is pledged to ensuring that the tournament isn't over for them yet.

'I want us to continue for the sake of these three,' he asserted yesterday. 'I also want a semi-final place as a birthday present for Dorinel Munteanu, who is 32 on Sunday.'

What odds Hagi having a personal reason for wishing to help Romania reach the last four, at least? Didn't he and their immediate past coach, Victor Piturca, fall out on television recently over the issue of how important he is to them?

Hagi, according to Piturca, didn't play that significant a part in his country's qualifying for the competition. They could have made it without him, he said.

The gifted midfielder, having come out of international retirement to assist their cause, felt his honour had been slighted. Maybe he wasn't quite appeased by the Romanian FA's subsequent removal of Piturca and replacement by Emerich Jenei.

Italy, it transpires, have good reason to remember the latter from his first incarnation as national coach. He was in charge when Romania beat them 1-0 in 1989.

The Italians must think back 20 years to when last they prevailed against the east Europeans, a fact which gives some idea of why Jenei and his players are not short of confidence on this occasion.

'We are sure we can win, ' he insisted, but, betraying just a hint of paranoia, he suggested they were afraid referee Vitor Manuel Melo Pereira of Portugal might favour the opposition. Now, what would give him that idea?

Well, weren't Romania denied a penalty when they played Germany in their group game? Didn't Jenei make some confused allusion, after the England game, to UEFA's wanting the bigger nations to prevail?

Romania are far smaller than Italy, that's for sure. But they are not dissimilar to them in style, with Jenei saying: 'They play like us. They play intelligent football and know how to keep the ball.

'They also are very powerful, sometimes playing with three forwards. But we can surprise with our counter-attacks'.

Romania's development can be put down in part, at least, to the number of their players who have come to making a living abroad since political barriers were broken down ten years ago.

None has become more worldly-wise than Hagi, currently playing with Galatasaray after spells with Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and Brescia in Italy.

'This will be a difficult game for us,' he asserted, 'but we have players who can change things in an instant for us. That's why I believe we have a good chance of winning.'