Tears at Wembley as England Crash Out of Euro

England will not be in the finals of a major football tournament for the first time since the 1994 World Cup, as they lost to Croatia 2-3 at the Wembley. In a dramatic night, Croatia went two goals ahead after 14 minutes but England drew level after half-time with a Frank Lampard penalty and an excellent Peter Crouch finish.

However, Petric’s winner in the 77th minute and Russia’s 1-0 win in Andorra means England will have to watch the other big European countries converge in Austria-Switzerland for the Euro Championships.

England has one of the best squads, with lots of superstars, no doubt. But it takes an inspirational manager to mould the squad into a world-class team. England under McClaren, never looked like a ‘team’. Frank Lampard is at best, an overrated player who has Essien and Makelele doing the dirty job behind him at Chelsea. Gerrard is inspirational for Liverpool where he is surrounded by good foreign players but when has he ever shone in the English team?

No one can question their passion but Lampard and Gerrard just do not have the technique or the skill of a Fabregas or a Scholes. When was the last time we saw Lampard providing a defence-splitting pass for an England striker to score? And when his goals dried up, all we could see was a one-dimensional player. That players like Xabi Alonso, and even Cesc Fabregas sometimes do not make it to the first team, shows the quality Spain has.

Agreed that the English media puts tremendous pressure on its players but then it is the same case with Spain, Italy, and France. In fact, Spain’s Luis Aragones faced calls for resignation almost through the entire qualifying campaign.

It is not fair to put the blame entirely on Steve McClaren, his selection and tactics, since England players are not as good as they are hyped up to be. The huge influx of foreign players has definitely had a negative impact on the English national team, with fewer English youngsters getting a chance to prove themselves.

But then, who can blame top English teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool preferring to sign Portugese and Spanish youngsters when the only other option is English youngsters with limited technique. One would feel compelled to put the blame on the FA again for their failure to develop players at the grass-root level.

The failure to reach the Euro Championships (from a relatively easier group) might actually be a blessing in disguise. It has revealed some serious issues for the English FA to address. The FA has to take this opportunity and take some sincere efforts to improve youngsters at the grass-root levels. The English Premier League might be one of the best and most entertaining leagues in the world, but that just conceals the rot at the national level. It’s the bitter truth - England never truly deserved to make it to Euro 2008.

Teams for Euro Championships at 2008.

Switzerland Croatia
Austria Italy
Greece Czech Republic
Holland Sweden

Germany Poland
Romania France
Portugal Turkey
Spain Russia