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Euro 2008 Qualification: England vs. Croatia

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

November 21, 2007
20:00 (UTC)
England 2 – 3 Croatia Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 88,091
Referee: Peter Fröjdfeldt
Wright-Phillips Substituted off after 46 minutes 46'
Beckham Substituted on after 46 minutes 46'
Barry Substituted off after 46 minutes 46'
Defoe Substituted on after 46 minutes 46'
Lampard Scored after 56 minutes 56' (pen)
Crouch Scored after 65 minutes 65'
J Cole Substituted off after 80 minutes 80'
Bent Substituted on after 80 minutes 80'
Scored after 8 minutes 8' Kranjčar
Scored after 14 minutes 14' Olić
Booked after 32 minutes 32' Kovač
Booked after 50 minutes 50' da Silva
Substituted off after 69 minutes 69' da Silva
Substituted on after 69 minutes 69' Petrić
Substituted off after 75 minutes 75' Kranjčar
Substituted on after 75 minutes 75' Pranjić
Scored after 77 minutes 77' Petrić
Substituted off after 84 minutes 84' Olić
Substituted on after 84 minutes 84' Rakitić

England failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 after a 2-3 defeat to Croatia at Wembley Stadium, London.

Needing to avoid defeat to secure qualification, England got off to a bad start as Niko Kranjčar's shot came off goalkeeper Scott Carson to give Croatia the lead after just eight minutes. Soon afterwards Ivica Olić doubled Croatia's lead.

England scored when Josip Šimunić pulled back Jermaine Defoe, with Frank Lampard converting the resulting penalty. David Beckham, winning his 99th cap for England, set up Peter Crouch who equalised with a volley. However Croatia continued to push England back, and substitute Mladen Petrić scored the winner from 25 metres with just under fifteen minutes remaining.

Croatia finished at the top in Group E, while Russia also qualified after their 1-0 victory over Andorra. England finished third in the group, missing out on their first major tournament since the 1994 World Cup. Manager Steve McClaren's job is in doubt, having been criticised during the qualification campaign and dropping regular goalkeeper Paul Robinson in favour of newcomer Scott Carson for the vital final match.

Sources