England 0 Macedonia 0, October 7, 2006: the Old Trafford crowd was frustrated by an extremely lacklustre England performance. As Steve McClaren, the manager, said: “It wasn’t about systems, it was about the basics, passing and movement, tempo and intensity.” The result begged the question: are England as good as they think they are?

Croatia 2 England 0, October 11, 2006: a comical own goal is the abiding memory of this match as Paul Robinson was fooled by a bobble when attempting to clear Gary Neville's backpass upfield. The ball rolled past him and into the net. This overshadowed McClaren's disastrous tactics which even Slaven Bilic, the Croatia coach, could not comprehend. The England fans were swift to show their anger after the match.

Israel 0 England 0, March 24, 2007: another less than impressive display saw a continued lack of confidence from the England team, most surprisingly from Wayne Rooney, and more howls of derision from their supporters. Steve McClaren pointed out that his team were one accurate finish away from a win, but it was hard not to recognise signs of a deeper malaise.

Andorra 0 England 3, March 28, 2007: despite an away victory, McClaren was subjected to terrible abuse from the travelling fans. He wasn't the only recipient - Frank Lampard was to hear the first shouts from the boo-boys who are continuing to haunt his international career. The result meant England were in a four-horse race for the two automatic qualifying places with Israel, Croatia and Russia.

Expert View

Like most bullies, England are not so brave when the battle is beyond home turf

Martin Samuel

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BACKGROUND

• England's hopes take a dive

• Four minutes of madness cost England dear

• Vultures circle over McClaren’s regime

• Failure to learn from mistakes of Euro 2004

BACKGROUND

• How England rated

• Praying for good news from Holy Land

• Rolling out green carpet proves immaterial

• Russia reaps rewards of Abramovich’s affections

Russia 2 England 1, October 17, 2007: England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 were ripped out of their hands in four minutes of madness inside the Luzhniki Stadium. McClaren will be hoping that Israel can do his job prospects a favour.

Israel 2 Russia 1, November 17, 2007: England's players, fans and management endured a hair-raising 90 minutes as Russia searched for a win in Tel Aviv that would seal their European Championship place and end England's chances. With the game poised at 1-1 late on, Dmitri Sychev hit the post and Pavel Pogrebnyak could not connect in front of an open goal before Israel striker Omer Golan struck an unlikely winner to keep England's Euro 2008 hopes alive.

England 2 Croatia 3, November 21, 2007: Despite a second-half comeback inspired by David Beckham, England are given a footballing lesson from Slaven Bilic's side. Scott Carson set England's nerves jangling with a goalkeeping however to give Croatia an early lead.