ENGLAND 2 CROTIA 3 - england fail to qualify

England 2
Lampard (pen) 56
Crouch 65

Croatia 3
Kranjcar 8
Olic 14
Petric 77

Venue: Wembley Stadium.
Attendance: 88,091.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).

England have failed to qualify for the 2008 Euro's after a dismal display at Wembley in front of nearly 90,000 fans.

I am still baffled how young goalkeeper Carson jumped ahead of David James in the pecking order. OK, Robinson has played badly enough lately to warrant being dropped. Why James, who has been on the bench, presumably therefore England's number 2, for every qualifier, was overlooked in preference for a rookie, is beyond me.

I am still confused also, as to why England lined up with a 451 formation. Owen got injured in a meaningless friendly away to Austria, and McClaren saw fit to change the whole set up, rather than just put in a replacement (defoe).

I refuse to berate the England players, who aside Crouch, Joe Cole and possibly David Beckham, floundered helplessly in the mud, on a Wembley pitch that had been trounced by the American football players that recently tore our hallowed turf to shreds.

The problem with the England side, for me, is the old boys brigade that run the FA. Non football people, making footballing decisions, strikes me as an oddity. Tomorrow these non footballing people will have an emergency board meeting, to decide on Steve McClaren's future tenure as the England manager.

The blind leading the blind springs to mind.


England Team: Carson, Richards, Campbell, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips (Beckham 46), Gerrard, Barry (Defoe 46), Lampard, Joe Cole (Bent 80), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: James, Ashley Cole, Brown, Hargreaves.

Croatia Team: Pletikosa, Corluka, Simic, Robert Kovac, Simunic, Srna, Modric, Nico Kovac, Kranjcar (Pranjic 75), Olic (Rakitic 84), Eduardo (Petric 69).
Subs Not Used: Runje, Babic, Knezevic, Leko.