Source: Telegraph
Spurs' Aaron Lennon has the legs to run Croatia ragged in Theo Walcott's absence
Theo Walcott, who scored a hat-trick that night in Zagreb, is injured for the return meeting at Wembley on Wednesday week, so Fabio Capello will call up another wide man with panic-inducing pace when he names his squad today: Aaron Lennon.
The Tottenham winger, still only 22, has been in sensational form for his club, scoring in last week's win over West Ham as Harry Redknapp's side made the early Premier League running.
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"I saw the game against West Ham and he played well but we have always followed him because he has already played with us," Capello said. "He is a very interesting player. When a player is fit and in good form I put him in the squad.
"Potentially he's really good. He's young. He needs to understand his potential and have confidence in it. It's really important because some players are really good but don't understand their own potential. Lennon can play one-to-one and is very dangerous because he's quick.
He can shoot with his left, he can shoot with his right – he scored a goal against West Ham with his left. But I think he has to improve the confidence in himself."
It is that wavering in belief that is surely behind the oscillations in Lennon's form – he's a player of extremes, innocuous for weeks at a time and then suddenly in a purple patch that makes him virtually unplayable. Capello certainly likes his pace and directness, and started him against Slovakia and Ukraine in March and April.
However, he'd had two years without England action before that. Over the next 10 days he must prove that his latest visit to Camp England is not a transient one.
Walcott's absence is something of a delicate subject. Arsène Wenger, his manager at Arsenal, has consistently expressed his displeasure that his player was taken to the European Under-21 Championships in Sweden in the summer, believing that it has contributed to an injury to his lower back that might not see him play until October.
Capello, though, is not going to be drawn into public spats and described his relationship with Wenger as "perfect". He is clearly picking his battles.
Even without Walcott, England should have enough to beat Croatia, despite Slaven Bilic's side's upturn in form since the defeat in Zagreb. The main problem Capello faces is how to accommodate Jermain Defoe into his side. With six goals in four games, including two in a half against Holland in Amsterdam, the Tottenham striker's goal hunger needs to be exploited.
That would mean a tactical shift from Capello. Until know he has favoured playing a physically intimidating centre forward – Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole – with a mobile second striker – Wayne Rooney or Defoe – working off him. Does he think an alternative system can be successfully adopted? Could Defoe start alongside Rooney?
"Why not? I think it's not important to be tall or small, it's important the movement you do. When you have the possibility to score goals you have to be dangerous and also you must help the team when they need to win back the ball.
''This is a really important thing – I choose the players also for this. You have to participate in the play in every moment, not only when you have the ball."
Memories of how effectively Heskey buffeted and battered the Croat defence last September might just check the urge to experiment, and with West Ham's Cole also having made a really positive impression on the England manager, there is a surfeit of options going forward.
The buoyancy of the England camp going into these fixtures is markedly different to the last time Bilic and his men came to Wembley. This group of players seems to have reserved its best and its worst for Croatia.
Back in November 2007, as now, England were seeking qualification for a major tournament, but it all went to pieces as the rain sheeted down on Steve McClaren's unfortunate brolly.
David Beckham came on as a half-time substitute in that game with England two goals down. The former captain, recently back from international exile, inspired a fightback. Frank Lampard scored a penalty then Beckham crossed for Peter Crouch to draw England level, only for the Croatians to score a late winner and eliminate England.
"It's more important that we qualify, not worry about the last time we played Croatia," Beckham said. "It is important that we win that game and it is important that we qualify as soon as possible because we have done so well so far. It is important that we stamp our place into South Africa and then worry about everything else then.
"It was one of my worst nights in an England shirt because of not qualifying. It was a bad end to that campaign. We definitely don't want to go through something like that again. It wasn't just bad for the players and the fans – for the country not to qualify for the European Championships was devastating and you never want that again."
