England coach Steve McClaren said on Sunday there were no
excuses left for his side as they seek the point they need against
Croatia tomorrow 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 said. "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."
Israel's win also ensured Croatia advanced 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 to Greece in the qualifiers for
the 2002 World Cup and got it only when David Beckham's injury-time
freekick secured a 2-2 draw.
"They (Greece) had nothing to lose and nothing to play for - and
look what happened."
(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2007)