England loses to Croatia, fails to qualify for Euro

WEMBLEY, England (AP) - England will miss next year's European Championship in a huge embarrassment to the nation that invented modern soccer.

Needing only a draw at home in its final qualifier, England allowed two quick goals, got an equalizer off David Beckham's cross and then lost to Croatia 3-2 Wednesday.

It's the first major tournament England will miss since the 1994 World Cup, and is likely to lead to the departure of coach Steve McClaren, who benched Beckham for the first half and started a relatively untested goalkeeper, whose blunder on his first touch led to the game's first goal.

McClaren, much criticized since replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson in August 2006, is unlikely to stay on.

Graham Taylor quit six days after England failed to qualify for the '94 World Cup.

"No, I'm not stepping down,'' said McClaren, who made a quick exit after the final whistle.

"Ultimately I take responsibility and I accept that. It is my job to get us qualified and I failed to do that. I don't want to discuss my future.''

Beckham, too, hopes to be around for the 2010 World Cup. McClaren dropped him last year, then brought back the 32-year-old midfielder.

Wednesday's game was the first time Beckham had not started an England match since the 1998 World Cup.

"I'm not retiring,'' Beckham said.
"I have always said that from the moment I was taken out of the team and the moment I came back into the team. I'm not stepping down.''

Russia beat Andorra 1-0 on Dmitry Sychev's goal in the 39th minute to climb one point ahead of England and finish second to Croatia in Group E.

Niko Kranjcar and Ivica Olic put Croatia ahead 2-0 in the first 14 minutes, but Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch scored in the second half.

Mladen Petric got the goal that knocked out England in the 77th minute, eight minutes after he entered the match.

"I read in your papers that no Croatian player would start on your team,'' Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said to the English reporters.

"I mean, seriously, wake up.''

England, eliminated in the quarterfinals of last year's World Cup, was missing Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and John Terry because of injuries, and they watched from the team dugout.

They came on the field after the final whistle to support their teammates.

Beckham, Lampard and Gerrard, all visibly upset, stayed for a while on the field, acknowledging the crowd as Croatia's players celebrated in front of their cheering fans.

"You should see the dressing room - so disappointed to have let so many people down,'' McClaren said.

"Explanations are for later. It's very difficult to reflect after a huge disappointment, losing a game like that in front of our fans and in front of the nation.''

England, whose qualification chances dwindled when they wasted a second-half lead and lost at Russia last month, had been given new hope when Russia was beaten at Israel on Saturday.

But playing against a team that already clinched a berth in the 16-nation field, England failed to take advantage.

"We just didn't perform tonight and that's the end of it,'' Beckham said.

"We've felt we'd been given that second chance and you have to take them when they're given to you and it was handed to us on a plate like that.''

With Beckham on the bench, England fell behind when Kranjcar's 25-meter (yard) shot dipped, bounced off the field and went into the net off an arm of goalkeeper Scott Carson, who made his international debut in a friendly last week.

McClaren used Carson in place of Paul Robinson, whose play has been shaky of late, and started Shaun Wright-Phillips ahead of Beckham in an effort to inject speed.

Robinson, who had played 41 England matches and was the starting goalkeeper at the World Cup, wasn't even in the squad.

But McClaren said he still backed his decision to play Carson.

"Ultimately, on a pitch like that, there's going to be mistakes and we made too many,'' McClaren said. "It's a massive pain.''

Olic made it 2-0 in the 14th minute, beating an offside trap, taking a pass from Eduardo da Silva and going around Carson before putting the ball into a corner of the net.

Beckham came on at the start of the second half in his 99th international appearance, and Jermaine Defoe came on to add offense, moves that brought cheers from fans who had jeered at halftime.

Lampard converted a penalty kick in the 56th after Defoe was fouled by Josip Simunic in the penalty area.

Beckham's cross in the 65th set up the equalizer from Crouch, who chested the ball and volleyed it past goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa.

Petric lifted Croatia back in front with a 30-meter (yard) shot that beat Carson to the far corner.

"We fully deserve to win,'' Bilic said.

"We were a better team in the first half and especially the second half. Maybe it was a lack of concentration that stopped us from scoring more goals.''

Heavy rain left the field at Wembley Stadium waterlogged in patches at each end.

The penalty and corner areas were covered by surface water while both teams warmed up.

Field staff worked to remove divots.

Lineups:

England: Scott Carson, Micah Richards, Wayne Bridge, Steven Gerrard, Joleon Lescott, Sol Campbell, Gareth Barry (Jermain Defoe, 46), Frank Lampard, Peter Crouch, Shaun Wright-Phillips (David Beckham, 46), Joe Cole (Darren Bent, 80).

Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa, Vedran Corluka, Dario Simic, Robert Kovac, Josip Simunic, Darijo Srna, Luka Modric, Niko Kovac, Niko Kranjcar (Danijel Pranjic, 75), Ivica Olic (Ivan Rakitic, 84), Eduardo da Silva (Mladen Petric, 69).