Graphic: Formations, bets and every last statistic

Steven Gerrard knows more than most about the value of passionate support having grown up playing in front of the Kop and has called on England fans to replicate the famous Anfield roar at Wembley this evening. Many of his teammates, most notably Frank Lampard and David Bentley, as well as Steve McClaren, the head coach, have been subjected to more jeers than cheers throughout a turbulent European Championship qualifying campaign, but the Liverpool midfield player believes that it is time for everybody to stick together.

Gerrard can point to many examples of being inspired to great deeds by vociferous vocal backing. It was his late goal in a 3-1 win over Olympiacos that triggered Liverpool’s run to Champions League glory in Istanbul in 2005, while the subsequent quarter-final win over Juventus and two semi-final victories against Chelsea were also largely built on Anfield’s incomparable atmosphere. José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, even claimed that the crowd were responsible for the award of Luis GarcÍa’s “ghost goal” that year.

Now Gerrard wants the fans at the new Wembley to build on the noise that they created during the 3-0 win over Russia in September and intimidate Croatia this evening in a similar fashion to those performances inspired by the Liverpool faithful.

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BACKGROUND

• England drop Beckham and Robinson

• McClaren demonstrates courage for art of survival

• Gerrard urges fans to be twelfth man

• Defence called on to compile case for the untried

BACKGROUND

• Croatia driven by lure of Premier League

• Playing for a draw . . . a history of success

• Ten judgment days

Multimedia

• Live: England v Croatia, 2000GMT

• Fanzone: Lions need to be tamed

“We’ve been in so many situations at Anfield when we’ve been in difficult situations and they [the fans] have bailed us out,” he said. “They’re famous as the twelfth man and it gives you, as a player, a big boost and helps you deliver a performance. We will certainly need our fans to play a big part for us at Wembley, too.

“The players, the subs, we’ve got to give everything. This team needs to deliver. We can’t afford to have any excuses. The rewards are massive and you know what’s at stake as a player.”

Gerrard, as the man who missed an excellent chance to put England 2-0 ahead in the return fixture against Russia last month, is determined to make amends this evening, particularly as he is again captain in the absence of John Terry. In the aftermath of the 2-1 defeat in Moscow, Gerrard described the prospect of England failing to qualify as unthinkable, which certainly remains the case after being handed another opportunity by Israel’s shock win over Russia.

“There was a lot of hurt and pain after the Russia result and I don’t want to experience that again on Thursday morning,” he said. “Having a second chance drives you on. Watching those games on Saturday night was difficult when it was out of our control.

“We’ve been through a lot and hopefully those experiences will make us stronger and make us improve. Sometimes you need a bit of luck and we certainly got it on Saturday. Now we’ve got to look forward and deliver a big performance for the supporters and everyone involved.” With confidence once more coursing through their veins, Gerrard believes that England’s main problem could be complacency against a Croatia side desperate to impress. “A lot of people are assuming that because of the results on Saturday we can turn up and qualify, but we’ve got a lot of hard work to put in to get a big performance and make sure we get three points,” he said. “People are saying that we’re there and it’s easy, but we can’t afford to go into this game thinking that. Croatia have got quality throughout the team and the league table doesn’t lie.

“There will be times when it’s not going to be perfect, but we must make sure that, if we do go a goal behind, we keep fighting right to the end. We need that ‘Istanbul spirit’ and togetherness going into this game.”