England 2 Croatia 3
21 November 2007

Attendance: 88,091

Prince William was the surprise guest at England's crucial qualifier fixture against Croatia.

The Croatian team didn't keep their fans waiting long. Croatian Kranjcar scored in the 6th minute, although keeper Carson got his hands on the ball he failed to make the save. Wright-Phillips came close to equalising minutes later but couldn't manage to get past a stubborn Croatian defence. Several aerial balls were placed into the box for Crouch but failed to find their target.

In the 14th minute a clever through ball to Olic gifted Croatia their second goal leaving Carson with no chance.  The Croatian fans already in high spirits celebrated their second goal to jubilant cries. England fans, subdued into silence, willed their team on through the rain and the cold. It was a despondent England team that made their way to the changing room at half time.

The second half saw Wright-Phillips and Gareth Barry substituted for Defoe and Beckham. Da Silva was handed an early yellow card for a foul on Michal Richards. Beckham’s free quick, following shortly after was blocked by the Croatian wall. But, in the 56th minute Defoe was brought down in the penalty area and Lampard stepped forward to take the penalty. The Stadium erupted as his decisive shot slammed home.

Olic came close to scoring his second goal in the 58th minute when his shot hit the bar. The 62nd minute saw Carson make a comfortable save on Darijo Srna's attempt at goal. In the 65th minute, Beckham crossed to Crouch, who controlling the ball with his chest turned to curl the ball into the bottom corner. The England fans were on their feet as the atmosphere in the Stadium reached fever pitch.

Daniel Pranjic was brought on in place of Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric came on to replace Da Silva up front for Croatia.
In the 77th minute the Croatians responded with their 3rd goal from Mladen Petric. Croatia continued to make substitutions with goal scorer Olic coming off for Rakitic in the 82nd minute. Darren Bent came tantalisingly close to equalizing in the 85th minute but his attempt just went over the bar.

At 21.50 the game was over and England hadn't qualified for Euro 2008.