Croatia vs. England Betting Odds

Written by:
Alistair Prescott
Published on:
Sep/09/2008
England vs. Croatia

England will face a tough test as they go head to head with Croatia on Wednesday in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.

Croatia was listed with 7/5 odds and England 37/20 at Sportingbet.com.

Croatia has never lost a home competitive game and knocked England out of contention for the 2008 European Championship with double qualifying victories over Capello's predecessor, Steve McClaren.

"I will be very happy if Croatia would play like Andorra. But I don't think that is going to happen," Capello said. "Croatia are at home, they have to go forward and try to score goals.

"The game will be different ... I think we have to play to win, always," he said.

England will be missing key midfielder Steven Gerrard, who underwent groin surgery late last month.


Joe Cole has warned his England team-mates not to underestimate Croatia for the second tournament in a row as they prepare for a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Cole, who came off the bench to score twice against Andorra on Saturday, hopes his decisive intervention in England's opening qualifier will result in him being promoted to the starting line-up for a match that could really set the tone in the battle for top spot in group six.

England lost 2-0 in Zagreb two years ago in a Euro 2008 qualifying match and went on to miss out on a place in the finals as Croatia topped the group ahead of Russia.

But Chelsea midfielder Cole, who also scored as a substitute against the Czech Republic last month, believes England have learned from their mistakes.

He said: "The last time we went out there we underestimated them a little bit. Looking at their performances they are a top side with great players.

"You need to be solid, tough and compact when you play there -- you need everyone's experience on the pitch because it's going to be a hostile environment."

Cole, who would be happy to take a point from the fixture, believes defeat in Croatia set England's entire qualification campaign back last time when a goalkeeping howler from Paul Robinson added to the sense of doom and saw media criticism hit a peak.

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