TONY ADAMS has made the ultimate statement of intent before England face their toughest first-round opponents, saying: ''If I didn't think we could win the World Cup, I'd retire now.'' Adams is fully fit to face Romania after a foot injury scare, and insists that he has seen nothing from England's World Cup rivals to change his original view that he will be in the Stade De France on July 12, helping Alan Shearer lift the World Cup trophy. ''I've not changed my thoughts on that from what I've seen,'' said Adams, who was as reliable as ever when Glenn Hoddle's side kicked off their campaign against Tunisia last week. ''Our prospects are the same as when the tournament began, that we've got a very good chance. We've got some talented individuals and a lot of resilience. Talented players usually have a bit of confidence about them and we've got that because we've had a good win. It's about players being able to perform to their maximum, and I feel that if we can do that, we've got a great chance. ''If I didn't think that,'' he added, holding up his boots for effect, ''I'd hang them up and go home. I'm not planning to do that.'' But the Arsenal central defender accepts that England must improve on their display against the North Africans when they face the team that he acknowledges as by far the best team that they will play at the group stage a seeded side who, at least on paper, will start as favourites. ''The World Cup's just warming up now,'' he added. ''The last games showed some quality sides. I don't think we kick-started them with the way we played, because they'd have played well anyway. The important thing was for us to start well, which we did. We're trying to qualify. Whether we beat Romania or not, we've got three games. Our priority is to get into the next phase. We'd like to qualify in two games but we're realistic.'' And being realistic, for the 31-year-old, means being aware of the danger posed by Anghel Iordanescu's side. ''We're not underestimating them at all,'' he said. ''They're the favourites, the seeded side. But we know the players who can cause us problems. Hagi tends to float wide and has an excellent left foot, Ilie looks very sharp. They've got some good talented players, but so have we. And the morale in our camp is very good.''

COBRA POISED TO STRIKE   ADRIAN ILIE, the Romania striker known as 'The Cobra' because he's so deadly in front of goal, is ready to put the bite on England's World Cup hopes. The Valencia player, tipped to be one of the stars of the tournament, scored the only goal in the Romanians' 1-0 victory over Colombia last Monday and is keen to repeat the dose against Glenn Hoddle's men. In fact, Ilie believes that the Romania, who cruised through their qualifying group, can go a long way in France 98. He said: "We've proved that we have a very good group of players. We have players with a lot of experience and youngsters who've shown that they can produce the goods at this level. I'm sure that we'll be able to impose our game on the English. As ever, they will be very physical and we will be very technical - it's a clash of styles that could favour us. Qualification for the second round would then be assured and I'm certain that we're capable of going further.'' Ilie, who has shrugged off a leg muscle injury he picked up last Monday, revealed that his country are relying a lot on Chelsea's Dan Petrescu for a low-down on England.''Dan, in particular, knows the English game inside out and his information is invaluable,'' the striker said. One of those experienced players Ilie was talking about is his boyhood idol, Gheorghe Hagi, who will take on England for what could be the final time in today's World Cup encounter in Toulouse. But even at the veteran stage, he is now 33 and recently returned to the international stage, he is still a major threat to Glenn Hoddle's side and impressed Peter Taylor and Dave Sexton in Monday's 1-0 opening win over Colombia. The player himself admits he is in prime form to tackle England with the freedom and licence to roam afforded by coach Anghel Iordanescu who will quit to coach Greece after the finals. Don't miss a full and exclusive interview with Hagi in today's updated features section

MATCH TRIVIA ENGLAND v ROMANIA		HODDLE HELPS THE AGED
THERE have nine previous encounters between these two countries, including five in the World Cup. England haven't beaten Romania since a 1-0 win in the 1970 World Cup finals, courtesy of a goal by Sir Geoff Hurst. England squad member Rob Lee scored on his England debut, against Romania, at Wembley in 1994. Ilie Dumitrescu, then with Tottenham, scored for the visitors. Gheorghe Hagi, then 20 years old, played against England in a World Cup qualifier in 1985. Tony Adams is the most capped player in the England team. He makes his 53rd appearance today. When he won his first cap, in 1987, he became the first player born after the 1966 World Cup Final to play for England. Both managers have scored goals in World Cup qualifiers between the two countries Anghel Iordanescu from the penalty spot in Bucharest in 1980, and Glenn Hoddle put England ahead in the 1-1 draw at Wembley in 1985.		MICHAEL OWEN and Paul Scholes may represent the future of English football, but Glenn Hoddle is backing the World Cup's second oldest strike force to bring glory here in France. Only the German first-choice front pairing of Jurgen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff, with an average age 32, are older than Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham. England's SAS average out at 30 (Shearer is 28, Sheringham 32), figures which are in stark contrast to France, whose own dynamic duo of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet are both 20. Other youthful front pairings include Raul and Kiko of Spain (average age 23.5), Nigeria's Victor Ikpeba and Daniel Amokachi (25.5) and Gabriel Batistuta and Claudio Lopez of Argentina (26.5). If one set of statistics suggest Hoddle should perhaps look to introduce Owen from the start, another set explains just why the England coach is likely to stick with his veterans. In the 15 games they have started together for England, they have scored 18 goals between them. England have lost just two of those games - both against Brazil while winning eight, with one if not both of them scoring in 11 of the 15 matches.

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