Absolutely no excuses now, says coach McClaren

LONDON: England coach Steve McClaren said on Sunday there were no excuses left for his side as it seeks the point it needs against Croatia on Wednesday to qualify for Euro 2008.

From a position on Friday where qualification from Group E looked highly unlikely, England now needs only draw after Israel's upset 2-1 win over Russia.

"There is absolutely no way we can give this chance away," McClaren told a news conference on Sunday. "This is it. This is the last game. There are no excuses.

"We have got ourselves into this position. We are in control. We have to get the job done."

McClaren said he was too nervous to watch the final stages of Saturday's game in Tel Aviv, where Russia's Dmitri Sychev hit a post in the last minute - when a goal would have effectively ended England's chances - and when Omer Golan snatched the injury-time winner.

"I felt comfortable at 1-0," McClaren said of Israel's 10th-minute lead. "At 1-1, I dreaded the worst. It was unbelievably tense and in the end, I could not bear it.

"I slipped into the bathroom and did not watch the last 10 minutes at all. It was excruciating.

"I heard the boys cheer twice. The first was for the shot that hit the post, the second was when Israel scored. That is the fine line between success and failure."

Israel's win also ensured Croatia's qualification but McClaren said he had first-hand experience of the dangers of assuming things would be straightforward against a team not needing anything from the game.

He was assistant to Sven-Goran Eriksson when England needed a point from its final game at home against Greece in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup and got it only when David Beckham's injury-time free kick secured a 2-2 draw.

"They (Greece) had nothing to lose and nothing to play for - and look what happened," Mcclaren said.

"This game is not a formality. Croatia is in the same position. It is a good side and it is capable of winning this game, so we have to make sure complacency does not creep in."

McClaren said he had called up Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent in place of Michael Owen, who, like fellow striker Wayne Rooney, will miss the game through injury.

Midfielder Owen Hargreaves should be fit after missing last week's 1-0 friendly win in Austria with a knee problem.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/20/2007 page23)