In England’s last game in the group, they can even draw to go through to the European championship, however England fans will be hoping for a win. England were thrown a massive lifeline by Israel after their win against Russia in tel avib. England will have to be wary of past scenarios of this in the past, such as the defeat against Poland in Wembley in 1973 after the keeper labelled a ‘clown’ by Brian Clough made numerous saves to keep England at bay and knock them out of this world cup qualifying stages.
England’s hopes are boosted by the fact Croatia have already qualified for the championships, however Croatia coach Slavan Bilic has marked the result between Israel and Russia at the weekend as a mark of true sportsmanship and said his side will look to play their best aswell.
Mclaren sets England up in a 4-5-1 formation. With Crouch up front on his own and Gerrard and Lampard through the middle to support the big man. Shaun Wright Phillips has replaced David Beckham on the wing. England has a relatively inexperienced back four and have taken a gamble in replacing Robinson for Carson in goal. Croatia line up in a 4-4-2 formation. In Corluka, Kranjcar and Eduardo they have three premiership players who would have told their teammates the weakness in England players. Also in Modric they have Croatia shining light of the future and is a subject of a reported £2o million bid from Chelsea, so England players will have to look out for him. Its all about the result today and if the plan backfires, there is a certain David Beckham on the bench who will look to inspire England ala Greece 2001.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Team news as follows
Teams:
England: Carson, Richards, Campbell, Lescott, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Gerrard, Barry, Lampard, Joe Cole, Crouch.
Subs: Beckham, Defoe, Bent, James, Ashley Cole, Brown, Hargreaves.
Croatia: Pletikosa, Corluka, Simic, Robert Kovac, Simunic, Srna, Modric, Nico Kovac, Kranjcar, Olic, Eduardo.
Subs: Pranjic, Rakitic, Petric, Runje, Babic, Knezevic, Leko.
Not long to go. England fans are in full voice. The pitch has taken a battering after the NFL game and it may play a crucial role in the result today. Yet England should be comfortable with this and with rain pouring down heavily, it is back to Sunday league football for some of the players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRgLQxJ-J0
The national anthems ring around the stadium. The Croatia anthem is booed by England fans, I guess John Motson must have been in the toilet, as he remarks that it was ‘shown respect’. Prince William greets the players as they go through the pre match rituals. England fans start to kick into full voice as the pre match nerves start to wear away. A lot of focus on young keeper Scott Carson as he looks to keep Croatia players at bay, if he has another game like in Austria He will be able to put his feet up and read the newspaper in the game.
1 min: And its kick off at Wembley. It is going to be some night. Croatia are an easy on the eye team. With flowing passing and counter attacking football. They are not afraid to play.
5 min: England look to play it wide on the flanks. And are looking to utilise Wright Phillips pace who is attacking the full back. Joe Cole has a diving header saved by Pletikosa. However Croatia don’t look like they are here for a quick holday.
8 min: Goal!! – England 0-1 Croatia The worst case scenario for England and for young keeper Carson after a horrendous keeper error. Kranjcar hits a shot that lacks any pace or weight bounces up on the surface and slips through Carson’s fingers. It will be a mighty blow to his confidence and Paul Robinson must be thinking if I only I was there. The whole Wembley crowd are in a state of shock.
10 min: Wright Phillips had a glorious chance to put England ahead after Joe Cole cut in from the left and passed towards Crouch who at full stretch found Wright Phillips who composed himself but hit his shot right at the keeper. Will England rue that missed chance later?
13 min: Goal!! England 0-2 Croatia What is going on here? Unbelievable. England have found themselves with a mighty up hill task to qualify. Eduardo attacked England with pace and dinked a great ball to Olic to perfection, who was played onside by Bridge. England were almost statuettes with Wright Phillips deciding not to track Olic. Olic side tracked Carson and put the ball in the net. England fans are worried and rightly so. Do England need David Beckham of 2001? Yep. Big time.
20 min: England are pushing forward for that elusive goal without any end products. England for the sake of the country really need to step up their game. Two dangerous set pieces in succession achieve nothing for England. England fans are starting to get on the back of the players. Yet as it stands England can still qualify as it is nil-nil between Andorra and Russia. But England should focus on that goal.
25 min: Croatia are playing like they desperately need a goal. The ball is mainly with the Croatian central midfielders. As Croatian add salt into the wounds by shouting ‘whey’ after a period of possession. Steve Mclaren will need to look at his substitutes now. If it stays like this Mclaren will be picking up his p45 tomorrow.
30 min: England subs are told to warm up by Mclaren. England will need to put on a striker, with Bent and Defoe’s pace England will look much threatening. Peter Crouch is working hard but there is no one is there to support him. Lampard has been invisible in this game. Gerrard is not performing to his usually high standards. They need to show their club form now.
35 min: Gerrard put in a teasing cross towards the head of Crouch but again is isolated and Croatia are dangerous on the counter, as England throw bodies forward. Crouch is been England’s best player with his control causing Croatian defence problems. Time for others to stand up.
40 min: Carson’s confidence looks on the wane. After he parried out a relatively easy shot out into the feet of a Croatia attacker, however nothing came of it. Carson will be thanking his lucky stars. Gerrard had a free kick turned down after it seemed he was brought down on the edge of the area. England’s passing is woeful and are failing to turn their possession into anything dangerous.
45 min: Croatian passing is causing England problems an one has to wonder why England are failing to play like the Croats do on a regular basis considering their talent. Gerrard had a great opportunity to test the Croatian defence from a dangerous area. Yet again his delivery was poor and it only cleared the first man and not the second.
Half time report
England fans are probably asking ‘what is going on’ add a couple of expletives then you will get a better picture. How England managed to turn a match that needed a draw into a big task is beyond everyone. A howler amongst howler from the unfortunate Carson allowed Croatia to take the lead, after Kranjcar tame shot slipped through his palms. Carson has got to hope his team mates can turn it around, or he will face the repercussions of being the scapegoat. The Croats refused to make up the numbers and have played much better than England, their passing and ability to find space in particular is excellent. Apart from Crouch, the England team have been poor. They compounded the misery for England after Eduardo great run was finished by a great ball from him to Olic who rounded the keeper and slipped it into the net. England were stale at the back and there marking and positioning was bad after they tried to play the offside trap. Wright Phillips will be annoyed with his marking of Olic.
Mclaren has decided to change proceedings in what could be his last match. He has brought on Beckham for Wright Phillips and Defoe for Barry. Mclaren will have to inspire in the dressing room and give the best speech he can give to his deflated team. Croatia are here simply to win and nothing else. England fans will be hoping Beckham can deliver a Greece esque performance to a nervous nation.
The crowd give Beckham a big cheer as him and defoe come on. His delivery will be key to England’s chance’s as he will look for Peter Crouch. Crouch will be happy to have a partner to support him. England fans get fully behind the team. They have raised the volume in the stadium
50 min: Gerrard cuts out what would have been a free Croatian attack with a sliding block of the ball. The fans held their breath. If Gerrard didn’t reach that they would have been through clean on goal. David Beckham raised the noise in the crowd from a trademark free kick that hit the wall. Eduardo was put through on goal but a combination of Sol Campbell made sure the result stayed 2-0. These are testing times for England players.
55 min: GOAL!!! England 1-2 Croatia. A controversial decision from the referee. After Defoe was adjudged to be held back by Siminuc. But England will not care. Lampard who has been booed in the past by England fans, tucks the penalty away into bottom left corner. He makes up for the penalty miss against Portugal in the World Cup. England fans are roaring for another goal.
60 min: Croatia hit England back instantly after a clearance from Wayne Bridge hits the top of the bar. England can’t afford to let themselves in this position. Carson somewhat makes up for his earlier error from a great reflex save from the corner. The header was hit with great pace and Carson just stood strong. He receives the support from the teammates after they mob him for that save.
62 min: Bridge is probably having the worst game of his career. Bridge was running back to hius goal and was inexplicably dispossessed on the edge of the area. The croatain striker however shot was easy for Carson and he smothered it. Bridges passing has been poor and his positioning equally.
65 min: GOAL!! England 2-2 Croatia. What a goal. Micah Richards plays David Beckham into space and he had enough time to deliver and absolute peach of a cross, which had great precision and pace. Some great control from Crouch on his chest and he volleyed it into the back of the net. Make no mistake it was a great finish from Crouch. That goal has brought Wembley to its feet. Crouch continues his great scoring record for England.
70 min: Now England must not be cautious they have done well to bring it back. Now it has to be complete concentration from all England players. They find themselves in a diffucult situation. Do they attack to put the game to bed but leave them open for attacking from other end or do they defend and invite pressure. The ball is mostly with the midfielders.
75 min: GOAL!! England 2-3 Croatia. What a disaster. And it could be game over for England. Petric received the ball in a central area. Steven Gerrard backed off him and he unleashed a shot past the unsighted Carson into the bottom right corner. Their hard work was outdone. It’s desperate for every Englishman and desperate for Mclaren.
80 min: Darren Bent on for Joe Cole as England look to search for a goal. Three up front for England. Defoe and bent who have hardly played for England will have to be England saviours. Heres hoping.
85 min: Almost so sweet for Darren Bent. The ball is placed through the middle to bent who’s pace disrupted the back line. His shot was inches away from hitting the back of the net instead it the top of the net. It is getting worse for Mclaren and he looks to be heading for the exit door.
90 min: The England fans demand the ball go forward. And they are clearly angry. England need a hero, who is going to be a hero. Its now or never. It looks like the unimagineable is going to happen
full time: England are out. Final whistle goes. Boos ring around the stadium. Sad sight for English football. Expect Mclaren to be sacked in the morning.
Full time report
England are out of the qualifying stages in the European championship 2008 after a 3-2 defeat to Croatia, after only a draw was only needed. The game started badly for England after a howler from Carson in the 9 minute. Kranjcar hit a tame shot at Carson but it managed to bounce of the surface and slip through his grip. It was a massive gamble from Mclaren and it backfired in his face in furious fashion. Croatia were 2-0 up soon after and Wembley were stunned to the core. Eduardos run was ended by a great ball and olic beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper and heaped more misery for England. After that England failed to convert their possession into goals. With a lot of balls towards Crouch who was extremely isolated on his own up front and Lampard and Gerrard should take fault for that.
After the break Mclaren made the changes. Barry and Wright Phillips went off for Defoe and Beckham. Beckham’s introduction was met with a great cheer. As he looked to inspire. A soft penalty decision from the refree threw England another lifeline. Simunic was adjudged to hold Defoe back. Lampard made up for his miss in Germany by tucking away the penalty. 10 mintues later England got themselves back into the game. David Beckham paid the fans support back with a great ball from the wing which was met by a great finish the cross deserved. Crouch took the ball down on his chest and fired a volley into the net. Yet England players let the nation and country down. After Petric crashed a shot past the unsighted Carson into the net.
Bent had a great chance to level the game but was inches away from the net. It was about as good as it got for England. The boos around Wembley at the final whistle were deafening and it will signal the end of Steve Mclaren’s much maligned reign. England did not deserve to go through. The tournament will suffer without England but it wont match England’s fans suffering. Its over to the FA now and what happens next will run for a while.
Post a Comment