England need a draw to qualify

That warning means that Kevin Keegan’s men are now being held to ransom by a small section of their own fans, who have become a second obstacle after Romania to their progress at this tournament.

Aside from the National humiliation, exclusion would also be a devastating blow to the England players after their historic victory here on Saturday over Europe’s defending champions ended 34 years of defeats to Germany.

Now Erich Ribbeck’s beaten side may yet have the last laugh if hooligans cannot be persuaded to stop the trouble.

If they can, England must be favourites to take their revenge for a 1998 World Cup defeat to Romania and line up a quarter-final tie with Italy.

Rocked by a 2-3 loss to Portugal after leading 2-0, Keegan’s side are now on a roll after beating their old enemies and the coach is unlikely to make sweeping changes.

Of the walking wounded in the England camp, only Arsenal defender Tony Adams is unlikely to recover in time, leaving Keegan with just the recurring question of who to play on left – Dennis Wise getting the nod over Steve McManaman on Saturday.

Wise’s fighting spirit was precious in the kind of physical battle which England knew they would have to endure against the Germans.

But McManaman’s class might be the better choice in a skills contest with romania, and the Real Madrid midfielder’s coolly-taken goal against Portugal will also be fresh in Keegan’s mind.

Skipper Alan Shearer has rediscovered his scoring touch, Michael Owen is improving upfront and David Beckham’s inspired form will also weigh heavily in England’s favour.

Romania’s cause will, meanwhile, not be helped by the suspension of their only star player, creative midfielder Gheorghe Hagi.

Hagi’s decision to come out of international retirementwas crucial for Romania’s qualifying campaign and his absence here on the morrow after picking up a second yellow card against portugal will clearly be a setback.

Romania, suckered by an injury-time goal after holding the Portuguese to a deadlock for the first 90 minutes, also need to pick themselves up from the psychological setback of that defeat.

Only a victory over England will give Romania a chance of qualifying. If Germany also beat Portugal, Romania will need a bigger winning margin than ribbeck’s men to reach the last eight.