Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Croatia 2-0 England

England coach Steve McClaren's tactical re-shuffle to a 3-5-2 formation was brutally exposed as his side barely mounted an attack worthy of the name. And on the back of a poor performance in the goalless draw against Macedonia at Old Trafford, it left McClaren's supposedly brave new era looking distinctly underwhelming.

Paul Robinson was left embarrassed as England crashed to a dismal defeat against Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifier in Zagreb. Eduardo's header had given Croatia a deserved 61st-minute lead before keeper Robinson was involved in a nightmare moment eight minutes later. Gary Neville's back-pass struck a divot as Robinson went to clear, and he watched in agony as the ball rolled in. Robinson had previously produced a string of saves to keep Croatia at bay. This was yet another terrible performance from England and would bringing back Beckham make any difference, or should the whole team be replaced?

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