UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - England train for their crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia who are already through to finals

Confident England coach Steve McClaren is convinced they will earn the point against Croatia on Wednesday (November 21) that they need to reach next year's Euro 2008 finals. He also said it was a fantastic boost to the players' morale to train alongside regular captain John Terry on Tuesday, even though the Chelsea skipper will not be fit to play at Wembley. Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will be captain on the night. After training at Arsenal's practise ground on Tuesday, McClaren told a news conference: "We have got to perform tomorrow, we've got to make sure we put a perfomance in to get the crowd behind us. "It's so important that for 95 minutes we do that and ultimately it's results orientated tomorrow, but you have to perform to get that result." McLaren said he had picked the team for the final Group E game, but would not say whether David Beckham, Terry's predecessor as captain, was in the starting lineup. Beckham, fresh from Los Angeles, was training in the drizzle at the training ground near London. Beckham will win his 99th cap for England if he is picked. McClaren said, aside from Beckham, his other difficult decision concerned which goalkeeper to play. Paul Robinson has played in all 11 qualifiers so far, but could lose his place to either the experienced David James or 22-year-old Scott Carson, who made his debut for England in Friday's 1-0 friendly win over Austria and hardly had to make a save. Until Israel beat Russia 2-1 in Tel Aviv last Saturday, England's chances of reaching the finals in Austria and Switzerland looked slim, but the Israeli victory means they need only to draw their last qualifier. It also means that calls for McClaren to lose his job have been silenced, temporarily at least. "The support I've received within the game I've really been touched by, and that's important to me, that's probably the most important to me, you know these are from people who know the job and who know me," McClaren told reporters at the team's news conference Croatia arrive at Wembley leading the group with 26 points from 11 matches. England have 23 points and Russia 21. Russia are almost certain to beat Andorra to finish on 24 points, so England are likely to need at least a draw to reach the same total and finish ahead of Russia on a better head-to-head record. Steven Gerrard spoke about the boost that playing in front of a loud home crowd would give to the team at Wembley. He also said that everything now depended on the team result. "Now it's all about doing the job on the field. There's been enough said over this campaign about qualification, now it's time to deliver on the pitch," Gerrard said. Probable teams: England: Paul Robinson, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Sol Campbell, Wayne Bridge, Owen Hargreaves, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Peter Crouch. Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa, Dario Simic, Josip Simunic, Robert Kovac, Vedran Corluka, Niko Kovac, Darijo Srna, Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Mladen Petric or Ivica Olic, Eduardo da Silva. Referee: to be announced.

ITN Source | November 21, 2007

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