Croatia v England (2010 FIFA World Cup™) countdown

2008-9-10 20:00:00 GMT+01:00
FIFA World Cup 2010

The Croatia v England rematch is only a few months away! In September 2008, Capello faces his first major test as England Manager, potentially on the very same ground Steve Mclaren, and in particular Paul Robinson, experienced one of the worst nights of their international career.

Images of Borat smiling from an advertising board are also conjured up with the inclusion of Kazakhstan in the same qualifying group. Could they provide a shock of their own? Check out our quick guide here.

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UEFA Euro 2008

UEFA Euro 2008

Euro 2008 is now over, and what an incredible tournament it's been! Spain are the champions, their brand of sexy football sweeping aside all that dared stand in their way. 44 years of underachievement and hurt were forgotten as Luis Aragones's side swatted a Germany team that had performed miracles to reach the final. We were told to 'Expect Emotions' and how right they were! Turkey served up some of the most memorable highlights with two incredible late finishes. Croatia, Holland, Portugal, Russia and of course Spain wowed us with their beautiful and inventive play. Italy and Romania were the spoilers of the tournament, with Sweden, Portugal, France, Czech Republic and Poland all left hoping for an improvement at South Africa 2010. And lest we forget our perfect hosts Switzerland and Austria, who both failed to qualify from their respective groups, it's a case of better luck next time and thank you for the memories! Check out our Euro 2008 blog, review of the tournament, review of the Croatian players' performances, official BACF Team of the Tournament and featured articles "Euro 2008 - An Englishman's perspective" (following intrepid reporter Adrian Atterby on his quest as an Englishman supporting Croatia).

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Squad

Slaven Bilic has named his squad for the World Cup qualifying warm up match against Slovenia and announced the inclusion of previously uncapped defender Ivica Krizanac.

The left-back who starred in Zenit St Petersburg's run to the Uefa Cup last season had been told prior to Euro 2008 that despite not being selected for the tournament, he would be needed during the lengthy World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. It seems Bilic is true to his word as he looks to give the debutant his opportunity to challenge Danijel Pranjic for a berth in the first team.

The 22 man squad sees only two changes from that which was picked for Austria. Mario Galinovic is dropped as Bilic takes only two goalkeepers, whilst Igor Budan of Palermo is replaced by the incoming Krizanac.

Two notable points are the inclusion of Niko Kovac, who recently retracted his retirement from international football after the defeat to Turkey and the absence of Dario Cvitanich, the Argentine born Ajax striker who last month pledged his future to Croatia.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow), Vedran Runje (RC Lens)

Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Manchester City), Dario Simic (AC Milan), Robert Kovac (Borussia Dortmund), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Dario Knezevic (Juventus), Hrvoje Vejic (Tomsk), Ivica Krizanac (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Midfielders: Danijel Pranjic (Heerenveen), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Niko Kovac (Salzburg), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Jerko Leko (Monaco), Ivan Rakitic (Schalke 04), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kiev), Nikola Pokrivac (Monaco), Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth)

Forwards: Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund), Ivica Olic (Hamburg SV), Ivan Klasnic (Nantes), Nikola Kalinic (Hajduk Split)

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