Euro 2008
2007-11-21 - England vs Croatia
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
England were given the lifeline that many did not expect when Israel managed to defeat Russia last Saturday. The result was unlikely but the win for Israel leaves England needing just 1 point to make it to Austria and Switzerland next Summer.ENGLAND
This qualifying campaign has been difficult for England, but a lot of the problems have been caused by themselves in the early stages of the group. A home draw with Macedonia was followed by a miserable 2-0 defeat in Croatia and a draw in Israel left Steve McClaren with no more room for errors. However it seems the defeat in Russia last month is not as fatal as it has been feared in the last few weeks. England have been solid at home in the qualification, winning 4 of 5 matches and yet to concede goal. They managed to 3 of their matches by 3-0 scorelines and also put in 5 against Andorra. This match, however, was always the toughest one on paper.
England have been suffering from an injury crisis of late with Wayne Rooney and John Terry missing out completely in the last 2 matches and Rio Ferdinand being suspended. This problem has been exasperated with the loss of Michael Owen in the friendly against Austria last Friday. Peter Crouch will lead the line for England and it seems he will be backed by a 5 man midfield. Wright-Phillips is likely to replace David Beckham on the wing, and Scott Carson could continue in goal.
CROATIA
Croatia were also grateful for Israel's win over Russia as this result gave Croatia automatic qualification to the finals. They need a point or anything less than a 3 goal defeat (apart from 2-0) to make sure they also top the group and maintain their coefficient when it comes to seeding for the draw for Euro 2008.
Croatia have managed a 3-1-1 away record in the group scoring 11 goals and conceding 5. Their first away defeat came last weekend at Macedonia as they conceded 2 second half goals at a very wet ground to lose 2-0. However, this happened after the Israel result had been confirmed and maybe the players relaxed a little too much.
Slaven Bilic, the Croat coach, has promised his team will give their best at Wembley, but there is a lot of talk praising the stadium and the importance of playing there. He has ruled out the prospect of playing for the draw but has made it clear that Croatia would accept that point as a good result.
England have added motivation to win this group as it would enable them to join the second seeds in the draw for Euro 2008 and give them a better chance of gaining a favourable draw. Wembley will be buzzing with anticipation and the fans will expect to see England qualify. I can see the match being very competitive for 70 minutes, but then the tempo of the game is likely to go out unless England are losing.
PREDICTION
I'm not normally a fan of picking teams simply because they "have to win" but I think England know how fortunate they are to be in the position where everything is in their hands again and I cant see them blowing it at home.
While they are missing a number of players, I think the team is still solid and scoring against them has been tough throughout the group. England will play without the same pressure as it would have been if they had to win and so I think it will loosen the players enough for them to win.
The Pick :
ENGLAND 2-0 CROATIA
