A goal by Brazil-born Eduardo da Silva and a very freakish own goal from Gary Neville was enough for Croatia to take all three point and head to the top of the table in Group E.
da Silva headed Croatia in front just at the hour mark but nothing could have prepared the England fans for what was about to come just 8 minutes later as Gary Neville scored one of the most freakish own goal you’ll ever see.
The Manchester United captain got his name unwillingly on the scoresheet as he hit a harmless backpass to Robinson but the ball bobbled over his foot and rolled into the net,a truly comedic scene.
This is what Robinson had to say about the goal:
“It was a freak goal. The pitch was very soft and there were holes in the pitch from where their ‘keeper took his goal-kicks in the first half.
“I have swiped at the ball and it wasn’t there. It was unfortunate because I was pleased with the way I had played before and after that incident.
“I sat in the dressing room for 10 minutes thinking what could I have done differently but it’s just a routine clearance and it hit a bobble, went over my foot and into the net.
“It is not a mistake by me or by Gary. It is out of everyone’s control.”
To be honest England looked uncomfortable from the start in their 3-5-2 formation with Neville and Cole at the wings.Mcclaren did later revert to a 4-4-2 and the irony is they looked much better with a 4-4-2 and when Kieran Richardson came on, Richardson and Wright-Phillips did sparkle a little and one could only ponder what would have been had they been on earlier in the game.
Croatia’s proud record of never losing a qualifying game at home did not come under threat at all from the Three Lions.They totally controlled the game as England was in appreant disarray and out of sorts.
Rooney once again had a poor game and in fact i think the whole squad had a nightmare game and for the first time in a long time even John Terry was caught sloppy when in possesion of the ball.
Terry however refused to blame the tactics and formation employed by Mcclaren but instead said “We worked on the formation for nine or 10 days solid and the manager asked if we were comfortable with it. No one had a problem with it.
“We take the loss as a team. It’s no one’s fault, especially not the manager’s. There are no regrets.
“We said coming here after only getting a point at the weekend against Macedonia that it was imperative to get a win. We haven’t and we’ve put ourselves in a difficult position - but we can’t wait to go again.”
And as usual the English press began pouring in the cricticism as England only managed to salvaged a single point in their last two qualifiers, a 0-0 draw with Macedonia and losing to Croatia, Mclaren had revealed that he can take the criticism:
“Criticism is part of the job. I know that. I’ve been around the scene for five years and I know what it entails.
“You pick a team, you pick the tactics, you pick the shape to win a game.
“If we win it, I accept the plaudits and, if we lose, I accept the criticism. We lost because of our own mistakes.”
The absensce of Gerrard, Hargreaves and Joe Cole was so appereant, and one wonder if he should have recalled David Beckham for this particular game and his experience and free kick skills could have come in handy….
Final score England 0, Croatia 2
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