TONY ADAMS wore the smile of a player who knows he will be playing in Euro '96. There are not many Englishmen who can say that at present and for Adams the knowledge is all the sweeter for knowing that, less than a month ago, he was staring at the prospect of following the tournament on television.

At that stage he was sitting at home, contemplating his knee injury, his mind alive to the slightest twinge. Yesterday he was in the spartan departure lounge of Peking airport, en route to Hong Kong and cheerfully recalling his first senior match in four months, against China on Thursday.

It was super. I am absolutely delighted with the knee. The timing was back, everything was there. Obviously a few doubts were in the back of my mind.

"When you are out for three and half months there is a lot of time sitting on your bum wondering if it is going to be all right. I stayed positive with myself and I am delighted to have come through the game with no problems."

The match was a decent workout for Adams, though it would have needed a poor performance by England for China to have won. "You need to concentrate very hard against them early on," added Adams, "which we did. After that we slowly stamped our authority on the game.

Terry Venables was, under standably, equally pleased. "He is an important player," he said. "He is a leader, he understands what you want and transfers it on to the pitch." With Mark Wright injured, Adams seems certain to start against Switzerland when England open Euro `96 on June 8th although Gareth Southgate's latest assured performance suggests he cannot be complacent.

The other star of England's 3-0 win, Nick Barmby, is less likely to play, as Teddy Sheringham appears to have the link man role sewn up. Barmby's two goals should, however, ensure he is in the squad, a situation which did not seem likely a week ago.

The Middlesbrough striker was very relieved to have scored his first goals for England, after missing good chances in earlier internationals, and he noted "You've got to take your chances in international football, they are few and far between. I certainly learned that against Combia and Portugal."

The rest of the party's composition is still a mystery, though Les Ferdinand must be feeling concerned. Venables may give some indication today when he names the team for tomorrow's friendly with Golden, a Hong Kong club side augmented by a couple of familiar names (kick off 8.45 a.m. Irish time).