FULL TIME: ENGLAND 2-3 CROATIA.

It's all over. England won't be in Austria and Switzerland next summer. Croatia and Russia will be.

Croatia clear Beckham's corner, was that England's last chance?

England hoof the ball forward again and win a last-gasp corner.

Lescott concedes a silly free-kick as the match moves into stoppage time.

Lampard manages to find a Croatia man twice in quick succession to widespread groans.

Suddenly Bent finds himself in space only for the Tottenham man's scooped shot to graze the top of the bar.

Croatia are keeping the ball well. Will England be able to launch one last-gasp assault?

Croatia make their final change - the outstanding Olic makes way for Ivan Rakitic.

Croatia continue to look very dangerous whenever they break forward.

England have resorted to hoofing the ball into the area and looking for scraps. Desperate times indeed.

A last throw of the dice by McClaren - Darren Bent comes on for Cole.

England paid for sitting back and letting Croatia come at them.

ENGLAND 2-3 CROATIA. There is more drama. Substitute PETRIC lets flies from long range and his shot goes across Carson before nestling in the net.

Beckham does some good defensive work as Croatia come on strong again.

Slaven Bilic brings Danijel Pranjic on for Kranjcar.

Gerrard gives the ball away in midfield but Croatia are unable to profit.

The game's still very open. Surely England should be trying to close it down now?

Another Beckham free-kick ends with Gerrard's shot being deflected away for a corner, that comes to nothing.

Croatia make a change with Mladen Petric coming on for Eduardo.

England still look poor defensively on this mud-bath of a pitch.

It's been a classic comeback already. Will there be another twist?

ENGLAND 2-2 CROATIA. Defoe wins the ball back and feeds Beckham whose instant cross finds CROUCH. The Liverpool man chests the ball down and lashes his shot into the back of the net.

Olic easily beats Bridge - who's had a nightmare - but Carson comes to his rescue with a smart save.

Gerrard and Lampard try over-ambitious passes when the simple ball was surely the better option.

This game certainly isn't for the faint-hearted as play swings from end to end.

From the corner Carson makes a superb reaction save to keep Olic's powerful effort out.

Croatia almost score again as Bridge gets ahead of Olic, lobs Carson and hits the top of the bar.

It was a soft penalty but it's yet another lifeline for England in this topsy-turvy group.

ENGLAND 1-2 CROATIA. No mistake by LAMPARD who sends Pletikosa the wrong way.

Defoe is tugged back by Josip Simunic. Penalty!

A combination of Carson and Campbell do just enough to stop Eduardo adding a third.

Beckham's effort hits the wall and drifts out for a corner - that's cleared.

Crouch wins a free-kick in Beckham territory.

Eduardo's clumsy challenge on Micah Richards results in the Arsenal man being booked.

England have started the second half brightly as Cole narrowly fails to get his head on to Gerrard's cross.

Beckham gets an early cross in, but it comes to nothing as the Wembley fans try to lift England.

Barry makes way for Jermain Defoe.

McClaren has made two changes for the second half - Beckham comes on for Wright-Phillips.

It's still pouring down as Croatia get the second half going.

HALF TIME: ENGLAND 0-2 CROATIA.

Woeful, terrible, inept. Pick your own adjective as England troop off the pitch to a chorus of boos.

Crisp Croatia passing carves England open again. The visitors are playing a different game to the one-dimensional hosts.

England have the chance to get forward quickly but mess it up. It's going to need a massive transformation after the break for McClaren's men to get anything out of this game.

Another terrible pass allows Croatia to launch a swift counter-attack.

England have been very poor since the second Croatia goal.

Gerrard should be booked after remonstrating with the referee who failed to award him a free-kick. He gets away with his show of petulance though.

England are struggling to string many passes together - Croatia remain very composed when they have the ball.

Cole spoils a promising run by giving the ball away.

Pletikosa does well to punch the resulting free-kick away from danger.

Robert Kovac is booked for hauling Wright-Phillips back.

Crouch finds himself on the right wing and crosses the ball to no-one in particular - in fact he crosses to where he should be.

A rare good passing move by England ends with Bridge lofting his cross to the Croatia keeper.

Crouch keeps winning headers, but there's no-one willing to get on the end of his flicks.

England have completely lost their way as the lamentable Bridge loses possession once again.

It's almost another as Kranjcar finds himself unmarked at the back post, but he's unable to guide his header towards goal.

Croatia are really into their stride now - they're playing some crisp one-touch stuff on an increasingly poor surface.

Croatia are content to sit back and wait for a misplaced England pass - they're not having to wait long.

Gareth Barry's free-kick is poor though as the Wembley boos get louder.

Gerrard is brought down just outside the area - England could do with grabbing a goal back now.

The England fans are starting to get restless as another pass goes astray.

It was a great pass by Eduardo that set up Olic for the second goal - the scorer looked offside on first viewing but Bridge was playing him on.

England are in trouble - big trouble.

ENGLAND 0-2 CROATIA. You couldn't make it up, as IVICA OLIC beats the offside trap, skips past Carson and taps the ball into an empty net.

Micah Richards flies down the right, but his pull-back fails to find Crouch.

Crouch is everywhere, but this time he's unable to get on the end of Bridge's whipped-in cross.

Crouch does well to set Wright-Phillips up, but the Chelsea man's shot is saved by Pletikosa.

England try to hit back but Gerrard's free-kick is woeful. It's over-hit and drifts through to Pletikosa.

ENGLAND 0-1 CROATIA. It's a disaster for Carson as KRANJCAR's speculative long-range shot bounces in front of the keeper, deceives him and slips into the net.

Croatia have started well though - they look very confident in possession.

Cole heads Steven Gerrard's cross straight at Stipe Pletikosa. It'sthe first effort on target though.

Wright-Phillips has looked lively in the opening exchanges but his run is stopped by a combination of a couple of Croatia defenders and the muddy pitch.

Crouch holds the ball up well but Wayne Bridge and Joe Cole aren't on the same wavelength and England lose possession.

A couple of hefty early challenges go in - this game will not be a cakewalk for England.

The pitch looks soggy at best, with standing water visible near the touchlines.

The Croatia anthem is roundly booed and we're off, with England getting the game underway in unrelenting rain.

Croatia will be no pushovers, even though they've already qualified for next summer's tournament. Arsenal striker Eduardo and Portsmouth's Niko Kranjcar will be particularly keen to impress.

England have a makeshift defence though - Sol Campbell, Joleon Lescott, Wayne Bridge and Micah Richards would hardly be McClaren's first-choice back-four - while Peter Crouch is the solitary striker.

McClaren has been bold - there's no Paul Robinson or David Beckham, so Scott Carson starts in goal with Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right.

Tonight's game could easily have been a non-event but for Israel's amazing 2-1 victory against Russia at the weekend.

Steve McClaren has always said his side should be gauged on their position after 12 group games - well it's the 12th match tonight and England need a point against Croatia at Wembley to qualify for Euro 2008.