To track the last time that England failed to qualify for a major international event, we need to turn the clock a decade and a half back to USA ’94. England finished third behind Norway and Netherlands in their group, and as a result never made the trip across the Atlantic. This time around, Steve McLaren’s boys went into the last round of games needing just a single point to go through. That point would not have been necessary had Andorra managed to hold Russia or even beat them. Andorra were the weakest team in the group, and nothing much could be expected from them. And therefore England had all to play for against Croatia, and the game was at the Mecca of English football- Wembley.
England have had many hiccups through this campaign, and Israel’s 2-1 win over Russia last Saturday came to them as a lifeline. And the stage was finely set- take one or all three points, and the coach and the players will be forgiven for some dreadfull stuff over the qualifying campgaign. Unfortunately for the Three Lions, Croatia wanted to show that they were the strongest team in the group. And show they did, aided by some sloppy performances from our players. England needed to avoid losing to Croatia at all costs, and sadly, they ended up doing what they should never have done.
Steve McLaren has taken some weird decisions throughout qualifying. His reluctance to part with either of Gerrard and Lampard ( both not working well together) was one. Declaring Paul Robinson his No.1, and then playing rookie Scott Carson in an all important game was another. Don’t get me wrong- had Carson done his job properly, the press would have been praising McLaren for his gamble. Unfortunately, it was one of those things which could have gone either way, and it went the wrong way for the former Boro manager.
Portsmouth’s Niko Kranjcar stunned Wembley into silence when his long range shot, described as hopeful looking at best, was misjudged by Carson, giving Croatia the lead. In the minutes after that, England had two chances to restore parity. One to SWP, who shot it at Pletikosa, and the other was a cross which needed somebody to tap it in. Crouch, who was the nearest could not. And at the other end, the ball was headed to Eduardo just ahead of the half way line. Eduardo ran with the ball till the edge and then sent it through Sol Campbell’s legs into the path of Ivica Olic, who had made a central run into the box. Olic rounded Carson and sent the ball into the back of the net, doubling Croatia’s lead.
I do not know why McLaren fielded a 4-5-1. Crouch was left stranded upfront. He had many Croatian defenders ganging up on him, and if there was another striker, there would have been a few more chances for England. The long ball strategy was hopeless, and the Croatians weren’t troubled at all. It was after seeing the team booed off the pitch at half time, that McLaren took action. He brought on David Beckham for SWP and Defoe for Gareth Barry. The change was immediate. England scored two goals within the first twenty minutes of the second half, and the match became 2-2. Defoe’s shirt was given a tug by Simunic, and the referee pointed to the spot. England’s first penalty under Steve McLaren, and Frank Lampard stepped up to make it a 2-1. That was true courage from the Chelsea medio- he has been at the receiving end of the fans’ ire in the last few months. The second goal came from Beckham’s cross. Crouch chested the ball down, and shot it beyond Pletikosa. 2-2.
McLaren would have been better off playing the 4-4-2 from the start. He should have considered bringing Beckham and a second striker on after the early goals were conceded. In rainy conditions, players tend to slip, and more so those who tend to run with the ball. Beckham isn’t much of a runner, and his technical brilliance with the dead ball was what England needed.
I thought Joe Cole had a pretty good first half until he had that fall. He was eventually substituted in favour of Darren Bent, and was seen clutching his back while going off.
After the equaliser, England chose to play defensively again, and started to lose possession. They paid for it dearly when Mladen Petric unleashed a screamer with his left foot, which gave Carson no real chance. I loved what the commentator said ” Mladen Petric, who did not make the starting lineup because he was sick, has made England ill here ”.
It stayed that way, and when the news came in that Russia had beaten Andorra, many of the players had forlorn looks on their faces. Granted that it was an England side without Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Neville, Rooney and Owen, but at this level, you are expected to get the job done.
And the pounding of the coach has begun. Forums are labelling him McClown, and the FA has sacked him. A large portion of the blame does go to him, but the players must be held responsible too. Perhaps the man who can best sympathise with McLaren at this stage, is Graham Taylor, who was fired after failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Who will take over ? A big question, and names like Hiddink and Neill are doing the rounds. Some bookmakers even have Shearer and Beckham, but that is highly unlikely. Mourinho was the favourite, but it appears that we won’t see the Chosen One in England, not so early after his departure from the Bridge.
The quota debate has begun too. Have the standards of English football dropped to such an extent that we cannot produce a eleven that takes us to Europe’s premier footballing competition ? England should take inspiration from France, who did not qualify for USA ’94, but eventually regrouped and won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.